PanHandlers

I have a tendency to self-destruct on other people's blogs, so I'm staying out of the sanctimonious, self-righteous crap er, um... comments... on InternetMonk's post regarding pan-handlers. If you're made of more docile stuff than me you may want to take a meander through it all. Not me - I know my limits. Well, actually I don't, but that's another story.

Some questions to ask when encountering a pan-handler:

1. How do we determine who deserves grace and who doesn't?
2. How do we determine where the limits of grace are?
3. Isn't the whole point of grace that it's undeserved? That it has no limit?

Damn, there I go again.

Look, here's what I do:  when people ask for spare change I give it to them. I do this because spare change just ain't that hard for me to come by. Plus it's you know, the spare change they're asking for, not the stuff I actually need. Sometimes I don't have spare change, so I open my wallet. Twenty five cents here, fifty cents there, a five dollar bill somewhere else - I'm pretty much out of control. I'm bankrupting my future. I'm burning down the bank. I'm living in the complete and total absence of good stewardship of God's money as I drop another Looney into a dirty ball cap. They ask for spare change and I give it to them, like a rebel without a clue. Totally without a clue.

Have I been taken advantage of ? Oh, of course. I personally know two panhandlers who are multi-millionaires. One of them has split-level, ranch style house with a walk-out to the golf course - more than I could afford, let me tell you. Two weeks ago I saw the guy with the cardboard sign at the on-ramp in box seats at the Opera House. And at the Opera House he didn't smell bad and he had teeth. Plus he was very rude to me when I asked for the thirty-three cents back, so that just goes to show you what a messed up world these homeless folks live in. A couple of them even have addictions. I don't like giving those people my thirty-five cents, because they might spend it on their addiction. It would be different if they were only addicted to say, coffee, like me and all my church friends. That's an okay addiction - I'd buy them a four dollar Starbucks latte, gladly. But that's where I draw the line, Mister.

Here's what I've learned: Giving people money makes me happy. It makes me really, really happy. Oh, I know it's only chicken feed, but that doesn't seem to matter. It makes me really, really happy just the same. I love it. I once drove around the block twice so I could give a squeegee kid some serious coinage. It delighted me. I drove away and I was laughing for no reason at all. Of course, this didn't happen all at once, it sort of grew on me, but I will now cross the street so I can give money to a homeless person. Perhaps I'm an idiot, but I'm a happy, happy idiot.

Of course, if you give a beggar a dollar they call you a chump. Ask why the streets are full of beggars and.... oh, wait, never mind. Nobody's asked that.

Comments

[Mike]

Well said, r.w.k.

After giving this issue a lot of thought over the years, I've come to this conclusion:

* I have it
* They don't
* That's all I need to know

[Amber]

I love this post. I'm going to link to it and hope some folks I know read it. But then, they may read my comment here too. Oh well...

[Barbara]

I'm glad there are happy idiots like you around RKW. :)

[Rick Meigs]

Super post. I'm glad to know there is someone else like me. Have I been taken advantage of? Sure, but I'd rather be taken advantage of by a couple people and know that others got some help. Hey, its not my money. Belongs to my master who said to be generous.

I can still see the wonderment on the face of the elderly man on the freeway ramp last week when I gave him a $5 bill.

[~m2~]

i took one of my classes to volunteer at the Rescue Mission and afterward, always took them to McDonald's for debriefing and sharing of experience...i also always told them there are a lot of panhandlers out front and not to give any of their money because oftentimes they just go across the way to buy liquor or support their addictions; plus, the kids usually only brought $5, enough to cover whatever they wanted and i would handle the balance.

first time we did it, a guy approached me and asked for spare change. i made the kids go inside and said i'd be right there and proceeded to give him all the change i had. when i walked in, they all looked at me and 12 little (big) mouths all started in on me at the same time about going against my own rule. i just said sheepishly "order you food," and ignored them.

the least of my brothers.

[Beth]

I thought I could post and say something nice yet thoughtprovoking. Nope. Got nothing nice to say.
I have this tho to say to the sanctimonious: "good luck with that! we are all beggars - we are all lazy - we are all needy. some just LIE more effectively than others."
The folks from Canada (socialist state that we are) made me want to SNAP!
I defer to the Most Holy and leave the justice to Him.

[Bob]

A guy just approached last Sunday asking for 35 cents for a bus ticket. I didn't have change so I gave him a dollar.

Thinking about it later, I realized three things.

1) Bus tickets cost more than 35 cents.
2) I had more than a dollar in my wallet.
3) I didn't ask his name...I should have.

[Anna]

Can you tell the difference between those who are likely to use the money to feed an addiction and those who are going to use it for something good? Do you just not worry about it, and figure it's better to give change to everyone even if that means some (possibly most?) will just use it on drugs or alcohol? What would you say to someone who was telling everyone that instead of giving money to people on the street, we should give the money that we would have given to them (or more) to a shelter/foodbank/whatever?

[Deborah Hooper]

I always give my spare change too. I would rather stand before Jesus having been a chump for him than to have never taken a risk for love.

[anonymous]

Years ago, my young daughter and I were walking in an area of our city known for its pan-handlers, and as one might expect, we were approached by an elderly man in a wheelchair who was asking for some change.

After a brief conversation, I gave what I had and then some.

As we walked away, my daughter said, "Mom, you were a hero to that man."

"No honey, I don't think so." I replied

"Yes Mom." she insisted. "You were his hero. I saw it in his eyes."

To this day, I still give when I'm asked.

Does this make me a hero or a villain?

I'm content to let God be my judge.

[Laura]

Very thought-provoking post.

Mother Teresa said that loneliness is the most terrible poverty. Perhaps by giving person to person we are feeding *our* loneliness...

[[rhymes with kerouac]]

Mike - Oh man, I write, like 500 words and you say it all in 11. I hate it when you do that! :)

Amber - Ah... You're friends won't need an explanation!

Barbara - Oh yeah, it's just that I have to work at the happy part. The rest comes naturally.

Rick - Don't you just love that look?

~m2~ Yup. That sounds like you.

Beth - I'm kind of fond of socialism, myself. Mind you, the Fascists do have better uniforms but their tax rate is astronomical.

Anna - No, I can't tell the difference between someone who's going to buy food and someone who's going to buy booze or crack. I don't worry about it, since it's not up to me to determine how they live their life. To give or not to give - that's the only decision I get to make. I'm okay with that. As far as giving the money to a food bank or shelter or whatever all I can say is... Really? You're going to go down to the food bank and give them some spare change?

Deborah - Exactly. Jesus may not be half as wound up about how we mis-spent our money as he is about how we mis-kept it.

anonymous - That's a great story. Thanks for sharing that.

Laura - You're right. And you know, I think we may need to give more than that beggar needs to receive.

[Urbanmonk]

i know this one is over but that dude needs to rename his blog internet pharisee. He aint no monk. But then again, neither am I

[[rhymes with kerouac]]

Urbanmonk - I only know that I'm the bleeding heart left wing liberal I used to rail against. Not sure exactly how that happened, but here we are!

[Anna]

rwk,

Well, that whole donate-to-a-shelter approach seems to be what all the "balance charity with prudence" people are advocating. I do know one guy who said that for every person who approached asking for money, he set aside $5 to give to a charity, like our church's St. Vincent de Paul food program; as far as I know, he really did do it.

[reesta]

The internet monk's post made me gag. It also explains the churches in my town and their apparent unwillingness to give to the local homeless shelter. That attitude has nothing to do with God and everything to do with thinking like a Pharisee (that God I am not like them!)

The point of grace isn't that the recipient is worthy - it's all about the giver of the grace and how much they love. We deserve nothing from God yet He gives us everything. If we are wanting to follow Him then we have to have the same attitude as He does towards the poor. Love them without restraint.

And who the heck is "more worthy" of eating??? It's a basic human right - I don't care if you've spent your money on crack - if you are hungry I'm going to give you food. Period. Starving never taught anyone anything except that people don't care about them and they are worthless. And that's a lie because the "worst" or "least" of us is who Christ died for.

This smug Christian attitude so prevalent in North America is what has turned people off the church by the thousands. Distorting scripture by requiring people to attend a church service, or join the church or whatever hoops required of them just robs people already beaten down of what dignity they have left. I know those beggars on the street - I know the other side of them and not one of them would choose that life. They just don't know that there is anything better or another way and making someone go to church for a meal is not going to show them that - but kindness and seeing them as a person will.

And yes I work with homeless people and have for 8 years and hope I will for a long time to come. I am also not naive about anything that internet monk stated. I just think he has a weed up his...... that needs to be removed. As does alot of the church today.

Loving people like Jesus does is risky business and many are just not up to it.

Love you RWK, my bro!!!

[gypsywoman]

I truly don't see what the big deal is, if it makes you happy, do it; if not just say no. Panhandlers do use the cash for alcohol and drugs; but not all of them. If a tsunami wave or tornado came suddenly upon people, they might not be so concerned with thinking about "enabling".