Is free money the way to treat homelessness? Oregon says yes. They’re considering a bill that would give homeless and low-income people $1,000 a month. Though well-intentioned, this bill fails to address the root causes of homelessness, which are mental illness and drug addiction. Giving drug addicts $1,000 a month isn’t going to reduce the homelessness problem. It’s going to exacerbate a problem that is, at heart, a spiritual issue. Drug addicts are looking for lasting satisfaction in something that can never fulfill them. Only Christ, who restores us to the image we were designed to bear, can fill our deepest needs. No amount of money can remedy a spiritual problem. And a government check cannot replace the call of Christians to share the hope of the gospel for those deeply broken, like Oregon’s homeless.