Ancient societies, especially Christian communities were hospitable to the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind (Luke 14:1-14) and to strangers (Hebrews 13:2). Yet, there is an unanswered question of security. How did such peoples protect themselves from crime and prevent strangers from taking advantage of them? This too was addressed by ancient Christian communities in several ways. First of all, ancient societies did not have such a privacy mentality as we do today, rather the community was there for mutual protection. Homes were designed to be only semi-private, with open access for mutual policing and security. Also, ancient Christian communities readily welcomed strangers, but if their stay was to be longer than a day or two they were expected to contribute to the work of the household. Perhaps we can learn from their greater sense of community.
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