I’m sure many of you have turned your faces away when you have seen a beggar at the traffic light.
I know, I’m guilty.
Let me introduce you to Mac. For 9 months, every work day at the same traffic light, I’ve seen this young man asking for money. So often I’ve pretended that I’m busy setting the radio, looking at something on the other side of the street, or I’ve just plainly ignored him when he got closer to my car.
Then I got curious. What drives this man to be begging for money? What happened in his life that he was caught in this desperate cycle of begging?
Enough of unanswered questions. Today is the day that I’m going to add answers to all my questions. I pulled next to the road when I saw Mac this morning and I called him to my car.
Sadness filled me when I could see him clearer, the unneat brown curls, the dirty hands, his peeling nose and his big blue eyes. He was indeed a source of great sadness.
How old are you? I am 32. Still too young to be doing this kind of job
Why are you begging? To support my family
Who is your family? My wife and my daughter of 9 months
Where do you stay? I stay at a shelter and my wife and kid stays with my mother at the other side of town
What do you ask for? I ask for money or food. I don’t like it when people give me cigarettes because when someone sees me smoking they think that I have money and then they do not want to give
Why are you not working? Although I am willing to learn and will give anything to have a steady income I cannot get a full time work. I have tried. I also have a physical disability, I get epileptic seizures and therefore cannot hold a steady work like a fitter and turner or even working on computers
How many hours of the day do you stand here? I start from early in the morning until late afternoon
How much do you make in a day? Today was not good. I got no money
I said goodbye with money leaving my hand and still a whole lot of unanswered questions. Is this for real or is he just an expert in panhandling? Did he push the right buttons, his child, the epileptic seizures and the “no money for the day”?
I know that many people asking for money are caught up in a desperate cycle of begging from the public. I also know that giving is not a benign act without consequences as so often money does more harm than good for many of these beggars are addicted to drugs and alcohol which can cause deterioration in health.
I cannot help to wonder if I will be changing the route to work tomorrow morning or if I will fall into sympathies when I see him next.
Thank you for this post. When I think these thoughts a scripture comes to mind.
Mosiah 4:17
Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—
18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.
Thank you. You are right, It does make one thing.
David also tell us: Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble. The Lord will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes Psalm 41:1-2
In Kelowna where i live there are signs on the poles at our major intersections stateing that it is illegal to pan handle there! For many reasons ! Including that its quite distracting for some and dangerous! We have 0 percent vacancy rate with very high rents! So this has led to alot of homeless in town sadly enough.
And alotof panhandling! But let me tell you some of these guys can make alot of money in a day! It was on the news here yesterday the squegee guys in downtown Vancouver, ( they rush up to your car dureing red lights and clean the windshield with a squegee) make over 200. 00 a day at times if their fast and agressive! And most are very street smart, and good at conning!
Just some food for thought! Thanks for sharing! 👍😉
This is the tricky bit. Where a few or more, abuse the charity afforded, the really needy suffer when the charity turns cold due to abuse by others. But this is exactly why the scripture warns us to let the receiver be responsible for the righteous application of funds, so that the giver is not guilty of denying the needy in error. '
For as much as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me' If I have to feed $50 to a con in error, in order to feed $50 to a needy family, I guess I must, for if I fail to feed those who need, their suffering and or death are on me.
If I were unable to feed my family and found no one would help me because of the cons operating around me, I think I'd have a pretty wretched view of the level mankind had fallen to.
Once the principles of gratitude for life and sustenance and charity and the perception that we are all one family have truly become a part of us, these decisions become simple. Without such, these things can be confusing.
The old saying of “charity begins at home” is then a good starting point. On the other hand it opens a new can of worms. Who? Your immediate family or does it go pass them, family relatives? A good question will the also be where is “home”? Is it my home, my neighbourhood, my church, my town or victims of natural events not only in my own but also other countries etc. To crown it you also have to decide, how much?
In the end I suppose charity is something within yourself and if you are in a position to give count yourself lucky
This is so true, which many of us are not! And are one paycheck away from also being homeless! Sadly enough it is the way of the world today, in many cities. 😔😢
You've nailed it, it is all over the world and it is not going to go away
Also how is he able to panhandle all day if he has epileptic seizures! If it stops him from working it stops him from panhandling! Just saying. 👍
Seizures prevent his handling of machinery, vehicles etc. Companies are also loath to take an individual with seizures although they can be very productive in appropriate circumstances. With an unemployment rate in the area in question of around 40%, this is just one of a myriad of challenges faced by people like him. A seriously degraded education system, poor social security and public service levels and extremely high crime levels are a few more.
And to add to it all the new legislations like BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) . If business owners are frustrated I can only imagine how those must feel looking for jobs
This is the same in my area! Weve had a flood of people move here from Alberta when the oil shut down, and the big fire in Fort Mac didnt help ! Now theres no houseing available or its extremely expensive! I split the rent on a 2 bedroom with my sons 3 ways or we would all be on the street! Still ive seen alot of these guys make some pretty good money if they find the right spot!
Your posting reminds me of a question my son once asked me, "Mom, why is life not fair?" It makes one think... :)
Image credit vsbattles.wikia.com
Hahaha! At least now there is some humor to the story
Thank you for sharing what happens in your city. I was travelling in Johannesburg sometime ago and I actually saw a man who was begging a few moments ago getting into a car which was parked around the corner. I suppose you will always get those who are the con artists. So sad that it is difficult to judge when they are for real
I think we often forget that the people holding cardboard signs are humans like us with feelings and ideas and stories and dreams. I don't care what mistakes they've made in their lives, no one deserves to live on the streets.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know this man and for sharing your experience with us.
It was not only a pleasure but a great experience. You are indeed right, we are all human, we all deserve a place on earth and we all need to look after each other