Give to Him That Asketh Thee

In the Sermon on the Mount the Savior instructed, “Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Matt. 5:42).  What exactly did the Savior mean by this—are we really to give to every single person that asks us for something?  Does it mean we must always give to the panhandler that asks for money or to the charity that comes looking for donations?  The Savior didn’t give any exceptions to this command but simply said that we should give, and yet certainly common sense would dictate that we can’t give to everyone (and that we shouldn’t give to those who will simply misuse what we give them).  So how do we fully follow this counsel in the spirit that it was given? 

               I think we can look to the Savior and to our Heavenly Father for what it means to give to them that ask.  We know that the Lord does not always give us what we desire even when we sincerely ask for it through prayer.  For example, in the Book of Mormon Lehi and Nephi undoubtedly prayed over and over that the hearts of Laman and Lemuel would be softened and that they would follow the Lord.  Nephi wrote, “Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; and being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried unto the Lord for them” (1 Nephi 2:18).  Lehi expressed to his sons, “My heart hath been weighed down with sorrow from time to time, for I have feared, lest for the hardness of your hearts the Lord your God should come out in the fulness of his wrath upon you” (2 Nephi 1:17).  Surely he and Nephi pled with the Lord continually for their repentance, and yet that prayer was not answered with the desired change in Laman and Lemuel.  There are countless other prayers like this offered by faithful followers of the Lord today: those who cry for the life of a loved one to be saved who nonetheless dies; those who plead for the opportunity to have children but cannot; those who pray for years for the opportunity to be married but do not find it; those who plead for health but do not have their sickness removed.  The Lord does not always give to us what we request, but I firmly believe that He does indeed give to those who seek Him.  He gives love and peace and comfort to cope with our disappointment; He gives wisdom and strength and the power to overcome challenges; He gives to us what is right for us, which may not be exactly what we are pleading for. 

             The Savior taught in the same sermon, “Every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matt. 7:8-11)  Note that this does not say that the Lord will give exactly what is asked for, but only that He will give good gifts to them that ask.  He will not give stone to him that asks bread, but He might give something other than bread based on what they really need.  So perhaps that’s how we can follow the Savior’s command to give to them that ask of us—to give does not mean to give exactly what is requested.  We can, though, always give attention and concern and love; we can offer hope and friendship and kindness without always giving physically what is asked of us.  We may not feel it right to give to the one asking money of us, for example, but we can offer a smile or a word of encouragement or advice with love.  We can give in the Lord’s way to all those around us as we seek to know how He would have us bless His children we are able to come in contact with.