Worse Than Ignoring
In a previous post, I had written about the harm a person does when they attempt to be “personally pious” but not publicly righteous. That is, there are many things they would not do because it is evil but they offer no resistance to others doing them even when they have some authority with which to stop the wickedness.
Today, I want to address something even worse which people who live personally pious lives can become guilty of. That is, rather than to stand aside and let evil have its way, actually providing for the evil to continue when the evil cannot sustain itself.
Enabling With Finance or Support
There are many cases in scripture where God has given instruction on how people, who may wish to be charitable, must avoid actually sponsoring evil.
One such way is to avoid giving financially to those who are “in need” only because they refuse to do the minimum amount of work that must be done by someone in order to meet the basic requirements we all have for life. This isn’t talking about those who are unable to work, as charity ought always to support the disabled, orphaned, and truly widowed. I have also written a more in-depth post about this enabling before.
Another way we may support an evil is to allow teachers who are contrary to the truths of the Gospel to have their say among the faithful.
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
2 John 1:10-11
This is not to say we must fully avoid ever entertaining an unbeliever but if they are proselytizing to their false beliefs that is something we should have no part in. To give a person like this a platform to subvert the faith is to participate in his evil.
Another verse which speaks similar to this is:
Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.
1 Timothy 5:22
When we are commissioning a person for ministry, we must be extra diligent to ensure they are faithful to the commands of Christ. To endorse one who is doing wrong is to take part in their sins and it must be avoided to keep oneself pure.
How To Handle
What God has revealed to us in these and many other cases in scripture are not excuses to be unkind. We ought always to be living in charity and every other fruit of the Spirit. However, doing what others wish for us to do for them is not always kindness. In many cases it is participating in their evil.
It is entirely possible for one to be in a cycle of self-destruction and dragging others down with them. What a person in a position like this wants is not to stop the cycle but to minimize the negative consequences or maximize their perceived gains of it. False teachers don’t want to learn more from you, they want to manipulate people more effectively. What the sluggard wants is not more opportunity to be productive but more time in which to not need to be productive.
Drug addictions are an example not explicitly addressed as one which people are commanded not to enable in scripture (though there are many verses against insobriety). However, enabling in this situation is one in which modern society still often recognizes the wisdom being discussed. Giving more money to a drug addict doesn’t give them a chance to clean up but simply funds his next fix.
However, what many have failed to understand is that all wickedness operates this way. This requires discernment, because sometimes an addict does need a meal. Sometimes a false teacher should be reached out to with an opportunity to repent. A sluggard should be given a job opportunity to turn themselves around.
In these cases, however, kindness is ensuring that any aid given guides toward repentance from the evil in which they are engaged. To blindly meet needs in whichever direction a person wishes to go could be doing nothing but funding their own destruction! This would be no kindness at all.
Thankfully, our God knew that faulty humans could error not just in being uncharitable but also by being “charitable” in ways that are harmful. Therefore, he has revealed to us how we ought to discern between charity and supporting evil.
