So if you have not read Amanda's post about our encounter with the woman in need last night you really should! Similar to Amanda, I was facing the same struggle. I wanted to help her, but I did not have any money with me. So what I was thinking was well you wait right her and I will run to my house to get you some medication for your son. Then, my next thought is wait I dont want her to see where I live. Just like Amanda said why do we judge? Why do we assume that someone is dangerous or has alternative motives that what they say?
Partly, I think it is society and how individuals act these days. In general, it is hard to really trust someone and beleive everything that they say, but I also think part of the skeptism comes from how people act on a daily basis. Integrity is lacking in our society, and generally, people just do what they want. What benefits them. Now, I am not saying everyone is like that; there are many people selfless individuals in our world. Unfortunately, I think we have more selfish people. We live in a society of always wanting more and never really being satified. Now, you might be thinking what does this have to do with the woman on the streeet?
I think it has everything to do with her. When approached by her, we perceived her story as the same one that we hear walking down High Street. "I don't have any money; can you spare some." Like Amanda said, how can we know they are going to really spend this money on the child who is sick or is it just for alcohol or drugs? Maybe we never will now, but I still feel like we should help them.
So this situation really reminds me of a discussion that we had in my Bible study last week. We were struggling with the same conflict and wondering what should we do? What does God want us too do? It reminded me of the Bible verse from Luke 12:48 that states,
"From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked."
Another tangent (to the longest blog ever!: One of my friends said at Bible study that she carries around peanut butter crackers and when someone as her for money she gives them some crackers. Or someone else said that when they saw an individual sitting on the street asking for money by Starbucks she bought him a drink when she got one for herself.
I guess what I am saying is though we may wonder what the individual's story is; maybe we should not focus on what we think their motives are but instead just lend a hand and help them whether that be with a couple of advil (if we were only lucky enough to have those with us last night!) or a hot coffee....
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I think your friend had an excellent idea. I, too, always feel bad when I turn them away or shake my head or just walk past them nervously without saying anything. But part of me will always be skeptical about giving them money if they are just trying to get into more trouble. I don't want to help them hurt themselves. But giving crackers or a hot drink is such a great way to help even just a little bit, while simultaneously knowing that my efforts aren't allowing them to continue down a harmful path. I really applaud your friend! Now I feel as though I should carry crackers around, too. :)
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