Is this quote 'charity begins at home' in the Bible?

Answer 1

You won't find "charity begins at home" as a direct quote in The Bible, but the thought from which the adage arises is found at 1 Timothy 5:8:

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. [NKJV]

Answer 2

Not precisely in that form, but the Bible certainly makes it clear that the home is important.

Another answer:One of the passages that give rise to the maxim "Charity begins at home" is 1 Timothy 5:8 - But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.More:Is "charity begins at home" Biblical? The way most Americans interpret it (stop helping foreigners) certainly appears throughout the Bible as a NEGATIVE attitude.

While 1 Timothy 5:8 criticizes those who don't take care of their own family members, the Bible makes it very clear that we owe charity to foreigners and even to enemies.

The Bible orders us over and over to love and take care of foreigners: Exodus 22:20, Exodus 23:9, Leviticus 19:9-10, Leviticus 19:33-34, Deuteronomy 10: 17-19, Deuteronomy 14: 28-29, Deuteronomy 24:14-15, Deuteronomy 24: 17-22, Deuteronomy 27: 14,19, Ezekiel 22:29-31, Zechariah 7: 9-10, Malachi 3:5, Matthew 25:35, Galatians 3:28, Ephesians 2: 13-19, Colossians 3:11, Hebrews 13:1.

In the Gospels, Jesus specifically challenges the idea that we should take care of our own exclusively or primarily. In Luke 4: 23-28, he ascribes a thought to the Jews that is very similar to "charity begins at home," namely "Do here in your native place the things [miracles and cures] that we heard were done in Capernaum," and then quickly criticizes them for thinking it. He holds up examples of the prophets Elijah and Elisha curing foreigners when there were plenty of their fellow Israelites needing cures.

Further, when Jesus is asked to clarify who is the "neighbor" referred to in the law "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18), he tells the story of the Good Samaritan, wherein a Samaritan renders aid to an injured foreigner--an Israelite. The Jews and the Samaritans hated each other (see John 4:9), and Jesus specifically designated hated foreigners as the neighbor to be loved as ourselves! (Luke 10: 25-37)

In fact, Proverbs 25:21 and Romans 12:20 say, "If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat; if thirsty, something to drink." Now the follow-up to these passages is that by doing so, you will heap coals on your enemy's head, but still we are ordered to give charity to an enemy, presumably a foreign enemy and not a countryman. Jesus also orders us to love our enemies and do good things for them. (Matthew 5:43-48, Luke 6: 27-35).

To be fair, there is one episode where Jesus quotes something very similar to "charity begins at home" to a foreign woman who asks for his help: He says,"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." After she persists, he says, "It is not fair to take the little children's food and throw it to the dogs." She argues that dogs eat the scraps that fall from the master's table. That convinces Jesus, and he gives her the help, going back on his "charity begins at home" idea. (Matthew 15:21-28)

Is "charity begins at home" Biblical? It certainly appears throughout the Bible as a NEGATIVE attitude.

I prefer the Scottish version of the maxim, the essence of which is truly supported in scripture: "Charity begins at home, but shouldn't end there."

Answer 3

Probably not.

This version:

"Charity begins at home, is the voice of the world, yet is every man his greatest enemy, and as it were, his own executioner. "

was written by Sir Thomas Browne (19 October 1605 - 19 October 1682) in his book Religio Medici (1642).

Other similar quotes:

"Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door."

Charles Dickens, "Martin Chuzzlewit"

"Charity begins at home, but should not end there."

Thomas Fuller