The other morning I had a sad brush with humanity. As I stood on the train platform working on my Word Search puzzle while waiting for my ride to work, a man burst into my concentration. “Ma’am, do you have an extra bus transfer or ticket that I can have?”, he wanted to know. He was very polite, and looked almost embarrassed to ask the question. Unfortunately for him, I’m one of the countless commuters with a monthly bus pass who have the benefit of not carrying bus tranfsers or train tickets for my daily commute.
After I told the man that I didn’t have what he was asking for, I felt a tinge of guilt that I couldn’t help him. He looked like someone who was definitely struggling, perhaps someone who could use a cup of coffee but didn’t have the money to buy it.
When the train came, he took the seat across the aisle from mine. Although I was working on my puzzle, the thought of reaching into my purse and giving him a couple of dollars occurred to me. After all, it’s the season of sharing! As soon as the thought came, so did the next train stop. The man stood up and left. That’s when the Roman Catholic guilt came on strong to nag me. What would Jesus have done? What if that man was Jesus?
But, you see, many people like him had approached me in the past. The only difference is that all of them demanded spare change, some wanting a dollar or two, not a spare bus transfer or ticket. Those people were well dressed and looked strong enough to spend a day at work. It made me wonder if the money they needed were to be spent on drugs or to get an instant fix for some kind of addiction. Many people have resorted to panhandling to finance their vicious habits. Such are real-world scenarios which have made it difficult these days to feel generous. In every instance when I was approached, I always answered in the negative. Call it lying through my teeth. I've made it a conscious decision to not donate my money to random individuals, but to charities that will take care of needy people's needs. I figured that if those panhandlers were really financially hurting, there are charitable groups they can go to for assistance.
Hopefully, I don’t encounter the same man on my morning commute. If I do and he doesn’t find the need to approach people, good for him. That means that his lot in life has improved and he can take care of his own needs. If we meet again and he repeats the same request, I might start to wonder if he was doing it out of an authentic need due to a streak of misfortune… or it was his daily modus operandi to ride free.
I never thought I would ever see panhandlers on the streets of the U.S.
These days, my prayers not only include world peace and the good health and happiness of everyone in my life, but also the economic upliftment of everyone in my midst. I hope that people who believe in the power of prayer will find it in their hearts to do the same. If financially challenged folks don't find the need to populate the streets and beg for money anymore, it will be a hallelujah day indeed.
