DON’T WE ALL
I was parked in front of the mall
wiping off my car. I had just come from the car wash waiting for
my wife to get
out of work. Coming my way from across the parking lot was what society would
consider a bum. From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean
clothes, and no money.
There are times when you feel
generous but there are other times that you just want to be bothered. This was
one of those “don’t want to be bothered times.”
“I hope he doesn’t ask me for any
money,” I thought. He didn’t
He came and sat on the curb in
front of the bus stop but he didn’t look like he could have enough money to
ride the bus. After a few minutes he spoke. “That’s a very pretty car,” he
said.
He was ragged but he had an air
of dignity around him. His scraggly blond beard keeps more than his face warm.
I said, “Thanks,” and continued
wiping off my car.
DON’T WE ALL? HE ANSWERED
He sat there quietly as I worked.
The expected plea for money never came.
As the silence between us widened
something inside said, “Ask him if he need any help.”
I was sure that he would say
“yes” but I held true to the inner voice.
“Do you need any help?” I asked
He answered in three simple but
profound words that I shall never forget. We often look for wisdom in great men
and women. We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments.
I expected nothing but an
outstretched grimy hand. He spoke the three words that shook me;
“Don’t we all?” he said.
I was feeling high and mighty,
successful and important, above a bum in the street, until those three words
hit me like a twelve gauge shotgun. Don’t we all?
I needed help. Maybe not for bus
fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave
him not only enough for bus fare, but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for
the day. Those three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have,
no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No
matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problem, even
without money or a place to sleep, you can give help.
THAT MAN NEEDS HELP.” DON’T WE ALL?
Even if it’s just a compliment,
you can give that. You never know when you may see someone that appears to have
it all. They are waiting on you to give them what they don’t have. A different
perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily
chaos that only you through a thorn would see.
Maybe the man was just a homeless
stranger wandering the streets. Maybe he was more than that, maybe he
was sent by a power that is great and wise, to messenger to a soul too
comfortable in themselves. Maybe GOD looked down, called an Angel, dressed him
like a bum, and then said, “Go messenger to that man cleaning the car, that man
needs help.” Don’t we all?
BIBLE PASSAGE TO BE READ
2 Corinthians Chapter 8 verse 1 to15
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