People with cardboard signs, asking for help.
It feels like there are more of them every day.
Weāve all heard the stories about the scammers. People who pretend theyāre desperate.
But some of those people with cardboard signs really are desperate. Which is why I struggle with this one.
Do I give to the person with the cardboard sign, and run the risk that Iām being scammed?
Or do I not give to the person with the cardboard sign, and run the risk that Iām ignoring someone who really needs it?
I know Iām not alone in struggling with this. For me, I keep coming back to something that Jesus said (which happens to be todayās Gospel).
āI was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.ā
Jesus speaks volumes, both by what He says and by His silence.
Notice what Jesus doesnāt say. Jesus doesnāt say anything about the merits, or the actual need, or the worthiness of the person being helped. Instead, Jesus says this,
āWhatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.ā
Translation - the person I help is none other than Jesus.
But what if I watch someone pick them up in a new car?
Maybe they are scammers, off for a nice dinner after a profitable day of begging.
Or maybe, just maybe, someone is giving them a ride to an appointment, so they can get the help they need.
Either way, Jesusā answer to me is the same.
āWhatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.ā
Because, in the end, it never was about them. Itās about me and Jesus.
And how I respond to them is a window into my soul.
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