“The more you give, the more you get”, goes the old saying. What do you do when you think you have nothing to give? The truth is that we all have something to give; a smile, a hug, a word of encouragement and advice, sharing some moments with people just listening to them, inviting them out for a walk, etc. Any act of love and kindness you perform to another person amounts to giving. In certain circumstance, even an act of not giving could amount to giving. This happens when, out of love and kindness, you feel compelled to give, but you suddenly find a reason to belief that what you are about to give could become a potential instrument for self-harm. Your act of not giving in that circumstance could amount to giving. This is because you are acting out of love and kindness.
I was out and about a couple of days ago and a young man approached me begging for money. The time was about 3pm. I asked him what he wanted to buy with it. He explained that he had not eaten since morning and that he was hungry and needed food. I asked him to follow me to a nearby Macdonald’s restaurant and offered to buy him something to eat. He declined. I found his response very interesting and wanted to know why he had declined my offer. As he was walking away from me, I followed him.
We were walking side by side and I tried to develop a rapport with him. I wanted to find out why he really needed the money. I thought to myself that if hunger were the reason for begging me for money, he would have been glad to accept my offer to buy him some food. I would have been glad to give him some money if I knew he was genuinely hungry. He was not hungry for food but for drugs as he confirmed to me after a few minutes chatting with him. As I moved closer to him, the reason became apparent. He needed the money to buy some drugs. He said he needed to have it urgently. He looked desperate but not threatening, so I felt relaxed to continue with the chat. I felt giving money to him under that circumstance would have been tantamount to giving him my tacit support to harm himself.
The thought of my encounter with that young man occupied my mind for most of the evening. I wished I had other ways of helping him. However, I was pleased with myself that I resisted the urge to give him any money. Even though I did not meet his demand for money, I gave him something that I thought was worth more than the amount I could have given to him. I shared my time with him on the street. I shared some ideas on how he could get help. I gave him information that pointed to places where he could go and seek for help. I promised to be on the lookout for him any time I come to the area.
There are thousands of vulnerable people like the young man. They walk the streets of London and other major cities in the UK. Many have nowhere they could call a home. Only drugs keep them going. They cannot live without it. They yearn for it. The more they take it, the more they need take it. They cannot have enough of it in their body system. Each time I remember the young man, the question that keeps coming back to me is who could be selling the drugs to such a helpless person. Someone out there must be making big money out of his vulnerability.
Let us join hands to keep such unscrupulous people out of their doggy businesses. We can achieve this by our simple act of love and kindness to vulnerable people we meet on the streets. Whenever someone approaches you on the street begging you for money, insist on knowing what the person wants to do with the money. Never give them money if you seriously suspect that the person is vulnerable and could use the money to buy drugs. If the person is hungry, you could offer to take him or her to a nearby cafe and buy some food for them. Otherwise, if it is possible, just give them any advice you can give including directing them to a local rehab centre. Where you think you have nothing to give, you can simply pray for them and walk away. That is a major act of giving and you will receive back ten folds.
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