Bergies overwhelm me. Every time they spot me and head my way, my heart starts thudding tightly in my chest, I try to avert my eyes from their gaze, and I turn my head away slightly. Doesn't matter if it's a 50 year old emaciated man, a young 20-something looking mom abba-ing a baby on her back, or teenagers - I try to avoid them all.
My policy with the homeless is consistent: don't give anyone money, no matter what their story is. And you can tell from my response above, that I'm not comfortable with this approach. It breaks my heart to say no to the little baby and her mom, it hurts me to know that I have not helped the refugee immigrant. Yet, I'm even less comfortable with giving money. Who knows what they might do with it? And how do I decide who to give money to? 'Cause surely I can't give to everyone. So yes, it's better if I just have a standard response to everyone.
I've been rethinking this stance though. I read a thought by NY Times Nick Kristoff a few weeks ago that hasn't left me since: "We know we cannot feed all the children in the world. But consistency doesn't require us to feed none". Consistency does not require us to take no action. So maybe I'm wrong in thinking so black and white....
Further, I've been wondering whether I have the right to decide what others are going to do with my money. I am not God. I do not really know if they are going to use the money to pay for a train trip to get their HIV/ AIDS medication, to buy their baby milk, or whether they're going to use it for drugs and alcohol. But surely, it is not my place to 'know' what they are perhaps going to do with it. Isn't it my role to instead be obedient to God? And if so, God has commanded us to be generous, and to love like He has loved.
However, we cannot forget that at the same time, He has also told us to be wise stewards over what He has granted us.
Sigh.
Read some more thoughts at Jon Bloom's blog posts on Desiring God: part 1, part 2.
Posts
Why liberty is good for human functioning…
6 years ago
1 comment:
I guess one way to help bergies without giving them money is to go buy them some food. When our gardener was unemployed we gave him his salary and also 2 kg maize flour and a few tins of pilchards in tomato sauce. Maybe that's not the best thing to give to a homeless person (if they don't have a place to cook food), but a loaf of wholewheat bread, milk or similar would certainly help them.
Problem is, this requires going to Shoprite, standing in the queue and so on, which usually is too much on an inconvenience for us busy people.
Post a Comment