Gary and I met the other day at lunch: he needed to send an email and I was working on my laptop. Turns out he was en route to give up Christianity, thinking about becoming a hard-core bum in Florida (he's just soft-core right now), and also considering a job in Wisconsin. Before Wisconsin could become a reality, he needed to get enough money for one month's rent. Since none of the Christian churches he talked to would give him a dime, his decision path came full circle. Gary seemed like a nice enough guy (his only "addiction" was the Diet Coke in his hand), but I've never felt good about giving cash to people I don't know, so I told him I couldn't help.
As we parted that day, I was immediately reminded of King Mosiah's
sermon to those who have. As a Christian and decent human being, it is pretty much required of us to given when we can–let God deal with the receiver's choices after that. Right? So I made up my mind I was going to help him, found his email address in my web browser's cache, and finally connected with him while he was in Champaign (a stop along the way to Wisconsin).
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| Wisconsin makes me think of cheese, and cheese makes me think of Gouda, which we all know comes from Netherlands, and while this isn't my picture, it looks exactly like the cheese festival I went to in Alkmaar. |
To make a long story short, Gary wasn't serious about the job, nor was he very serious about the apartment, nor was he very mentally stable (that's a problem when you're homeless, I've been told), but the whole situation gave me a lot to think about. If I can get someone back on their feet for only $250, I should do it, right? Especially when it's
individuals we're helping, not a "cause" in general.
With that resolution in mind, I gave the rest of my taco to a bum who asked for a bite.
I've been thinking a lot about how I spend my resources, especially money. I spend so much on myself. For example, I went to ACL this year. That's a lot of money I could've given to someone else, and even if they spent it on things I wouldn't have because they're not mentally stable, for example, how is that different than spending it on something as unessential as a music festival?
ReplyDeleteThe mind reels.
It's a good topic to ponder as often as possible, and it's good to read a post such as this -- reminds me to do more with my life . . .
(Also. I liked the cheese aside. Free associations make for good blog posts.) :)
(I must confess, Sara, I'm not very good at this blog thing. I'm just now seeing your comment.)
DeleteBut I agree with you. In theory, we could save up all the money that we'd otherwise spend on midnight Slurpee or Taco Bell runs and we'd probably amass a small fortune. Is it better for us to eat garbage or donate to someone else who will probably also use it for garbage? I go back and forth on this one all the time.
(Also, thanks for the blog tip. Keep 'em coming :) )