You ever have those moments where you're just minding your own business, and a person comes up to you and asks for money? I'm sure everyone has had their fair share of experiences. How many times does that happen? Every week, day, hour? Out of all that, how many times do you actually give in -- give them that one or two dollars?
Most people (I believe) would say they don't do that. I'm sure there are a few that will say they do for the most part. I, on the other hand, am part of the group that looks away for the most part. I know that's bad, but I'm being completely honest. I'm sure you have done that before, if not multiple times - at least once. It's part of the norm. We tend to close or avert our eyes to avoid seeing what we don't want to see. But that doesn't make the issue go away. It's still there.
Pretending that it's not there or that it doesn't affect us happens in a lot of aspects of life. Whether it is an issue with a person, an issue with a group of people, or an issue with government. Lots of people would rather ignore than to do. But it does affect us in some way, and most definitely has a domino effect.
The reason that I bring up this issue is because a few weeks ago, I had a stranger ask for money. I was pumping gas into my car at a local gas station and a van drives up, semi-blocking two cars next to me that were also being filled up. A guy gets out of the van and tells his story.
Everyone has a story. His though, was explaining how someone he knows is in the hospital -- he's on his way to see her -- and he's literally running out of gas with no money on him. I mean, it's definitely one of the excuses I haven't heard. And it sounds legit. In today's world, especially in urban areas, a lot of families are struggling to make ends meet. Gas prices are going up, food is going up -- and still a lot of people are unemployed.
So while hearing this story, I glance at the expressions of the two guys pumping gas into their cars. Of course, the typical reaction is IGNORE. And you can see it spralled across their faces.
Then the guy adds in this -- that a woman in the car (and she was ligitimately there) had told him to AT LEAST TRY. And that's when I decided I would give him at least something. The way that he had said it made me think that he really didn't think anyone would help, but he was still trying to see if it was possible. Maybe I made that up in my head. I don't remember. It's not like it happened yesterday. I could've made that up for all I know. But it did sound like that.
So I went into my car and grabbed some cash (it was all that I had on me, a $5 bill) and told him to take it. He thanked me and went straight into the gas station. And I straight away booked it out of there.
Why? Why didn't I look back to see what he had actually spent the money on? I mean, I gave him money -- shouldn't I have at least looked to see if he was telling the truth?
To be honest, I did actually think about that. Very briefly. Like literally two seconds. And then a quote that most people have heard from Anne Frank popped into my head:
In spite of everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.
I didn't want to think about whether he was lying or telling the truth anymore. I eliminated the thought from my head. If he was lying, well then I helped him at least this one time get away with it -- and was a sucker for it. If he was telling the truth though, well then I helped him make it to the hospital and probably made him believe that sometimes it is worth it to try something that you think wouldn't work.
What would you have done?
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