This morning, as I was driving back from the grocery store, there was a man on the other side of the road just standing there in the cold, holding a sign. He was wearing old clothes, so it was obvious to me that he was either jobless or homeless, and was asking for help. As the traffic light turned green I started to drive away, wondering what his sign said, or how many people would even give him a second look, and how Lionel and the girls were at home waiting for me to go to my sister's house to cut Rosca and celebrate.
As I was driving away I felt very anxious about the thought of doing nothing - knowing that I could very well help. So couple traffic lights later I turned around and gave him a $20 dollar bill. "Thank you ma'am, God Bless", he said before I drove away once again.
I know many people may think that I am an idiot for giving him money. That maybe he is a bad person, that maybe he was going to buy drugs or alcohol, or that he doesn't deserve to get anything just for standing there. But the thing is ... nobody decides to just stand there unless they have a need. And sure, he could have bought himself some beer, but he could have also used that $20 to buy his only meal of the day. And I hope that is exactly what he did. If he didn't, well, that is on him.
No comments:
Post a Comment