Give Money?

Good Morning,

Matthew 5:42 (NIV)
Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

We've discussed this verse of Scripture in the past. We've talked about how literally we ought to take Jesus' words about giving to those who ask of us. The pro's and con's of giving to people have been tossed back and forth with arguments on both sides of the issue. What we've talked about has ranged from "Yes, we ought to take Jesus words here exactly as He said them and give to all who has of us," all the way to, "Well, we need not to give to those to those who ask because the money will probably go to feed some addiction or other." Now, I would imagine that the exact answer would like somewhere in the middle of these two sentiments. Then, as often happens, while I was once again asking for the right answer, I received the following story. Oh, the "David" in the story isn't me, by the way...

David had just bought some juice and bagels to bring to a breakfast meeting in Northern Virginia. He drove out of the shopping center parking lot and noticed a woman looking through the trash.
"I sensed that I should stop and offer her a bagel," David said, "but I reasoned that it was my own thinking and not the Holy Spirit, and I didn't want to be late for the breakfast. "When I got to the meeting, I sat in my car and said a short prayer for the woman. I did this to confirm that I had made the right decision and ease my guilty conscience. I then felt like God was saying that the prayer for this woman was fine, but why hadn't I let him work through me to reach out to her? "I drove back to the shopping center, praying that she would still be there. She was nowhere to be seen. I prayed that I was sorry to have missed this opportunity, but that I would do better next time. Then, I saw her at a bus stop. "I drove behind the bus stop, and asked if she wanted a bagel. She said no... money. I was caught off guard by this response, but opened my wallet and gave her $20.00. she thanked me, and asked God to bless me. She said she would pray for me. "I apologized for not stopping when I first saw her, and told her that I had been convicted to come back. We talked for about 20 minutes. Her name was Goldie and she was from Iran. She had been homeless for 15 years. She had been separated from her husband and children and was looking for them. She then told me what it was like to be homeless and about how people treated her, how they would make fun of her and tell her to go get a job. She asked about me and my family. "She said that when she saves up enough money she treats herself to a cheap hotel to bathe and get a good night's sleep. When that happens she prays for the people who have helped her and for their families. As I drove away she waved and yelled 'goodbye.'"

We can think many things about many people and how they are living and what they are doing. But, we need to remember that we can also be very, very wrong in the thoughts that we might have about them.

I think that the bottom line today, and what God wants me to understand, is that I really don't have the authority to judge and to make certain determinations about people. That's God's job...not mine.

After reading this, I thought it important for all of us to understand.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David