In Luke 6:30 the Lord says we should give to everyone that asks us. I consider myself a generous person and have helped out many struggling people through the years, but because of my generosity I have also had some that keep coming back with excuse after excuse and looking for a regular handout. Where do we draw the line? I want to obey the Lord, but I’m not sure getting taken advantage of by people unwilling to provide for themselves was what he had in mind.
Nothing in the Bible tells us we have to accept ongoing responsibility for someone just because we’ve helped them the past. Unless the Lord instructs us otherwise, we can draw the line whenever we think we’ve done enough. I think one of the reasons he told us to do our giving in secret (Matt. 6:3) is to prevent things like this from happening.
However, we should all keep in mind that we can’t “out give” the Lord. If someone is taking advantage of us, that’s between him or her and the Lord. Our generosity is the measure he will use in measuring blessings to us (Luke 6:38).