(Yeah I know what you're thinking push yourself through a month of blogging and then take a nice long break, sorry no such luck. Things are just getting a little bit hectic around here hence being a little 'laxed in the postings!)
I've always been a little bit leery about panhandlers, not that I'm scared of them or anything but in today's society you never really know. You can never be to sure what their motives are, some may just need a hand up, some may just be "lazy", others, at their worst, might have violence on their mind and use it as an "entry" to do you harm. Regardless of which I usually will cross to the other side of the road or roll up my window when I see one on the street hoping to avoid any situation. I suppose it is this fear and the calling to "do good" that I wrestle with whenever the situation presents itself. However tonight I was unable to skirt a situation and was forced into making a decision.
When I returned to work from my "lunner" break I was approached by a young woman in the parking lot as I entered our building. I quickly gave a look and deemed her non-threatening, she was showing both her hands and there is very little space for an accomplis or other to get the better of me. She asked if I could loan her some gas money, she was returning to St. Louis to see her kids and had stopped to get a bite to eat. While stopped she had her wallet stolen from her car. Now I usually don't carry cash, but I knew that I had some money left over from my wife's anniversary present. (See I take out cash and then she doesn't know where I got it from if she were to look at the bank statements it would just say cash...yet I digress) So partially to stop the "sob story" she was telling and partially to close the situation I handed her what little I had left and told her not to worry about "repaying the loan" and to go get her kids.
Now it wasn't until I got into the office that I started to think, which is usually a bad thing for me. Now I quietly ponder was I a Good Samaritan or was I just very skillfully conned? I'd like to think it was the former, but why can't I ever be sure?
2 comments:
It is very possible that you were both a Good Samaritan AND you were conned. My point being, that if she was lying, the dishonesty falls on her head, whereas either way what you did was generous.
Regarding how to deal with panhandlers and the homeless - I have been fortunate to have married a very generous, brave and godly Christian man. I myself don't often reach out to needy folks on the street for safety reasons, but if someone asks for a couple of bucks and I have it, then I give it to them. But my husband goes much further, and in fact we have befriended and become sort of parental figures to a 30-year old, simple-minded homeless guy. He even lived in our home for a while. Not something I would have done myself, for sure!!! And there have been many MANY times when this guy has gotten on every last nerve and made me absolutely furious (there is a reason he was homeless!). But even though my "good deeds" were usually done with a conflicted and even bitter heart, I am grateful that God has given us this opportunity to help someone who literally has no one else in the world. You can't help every homeless person that you come across, but God made it very clear to my husband first, and then to me, that he wanted us to help this particular guy.
That was a very long-winded and roundabout way for me to say: I think the best way to deal with panhandlers and homeless people is to LISTEN to the Holy Spirit, LISTEN to you heart, don't worry about being scammed, but try to discern if this is someone God has put in your path for you to help.
I like Amy's comment way more than what I'm about to say. Sitting outside of Sacred Heart Church in downtown Columbia over many Tuesday evenings over the years I've been approached about "giving a couple bucks" lots of times.
For you Robert, giving on a whim is a great thing. But from experience, asking for gas money is really common. Like 80% of the requests. All with extenuating circumstances. They were, however, 100% men. Not kidding.
One gentleman would come by so often I would have to ask him to leave. He started by asking for gas money, then food money cause he was homeless, then diaper money for his kids. The last straw was when he bumped into me at Subway at 1pm. He was a pro, and between Tania and I we had given him probably $100.
I think trusting your instincts is a good idea. But I thought I should share my experiences in being conned.
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