How should you respond when someone comes up to you in the street and asks for money? Lyn Bender, former manager of Lifeline Melbourne, had some interesting thoughts on this issue in a recent article in The Age. A few people stop and abuse the beggar; a few people stop and give money; and most ignore the beggar’s request and walk by. If you spot the beggar early enough, you can stay far enough away to pretend that the problems is not yours.
People who claim to know say that we should not give money to beggars because the money we are giving them is somehow making their situation worse. Some people even go so far as to say that beggars are quite wealthy, and they are exploiting people’s guilt feelings for lucrative gain. But all I can see when someone asks me for money is the tremendous desperation and the great humiliation suffered by a person who is reduced to begging.
A five dollar handout is not going to solve someone’s economic difficulties. Many of those caught in the cycle of begging have mental health issues which prevent them from getting stable employment, and their government allowances are almost entirely spent on meagre accommodation in boarding houses, leaving them with almost no money for food. It seems to me that Jesus would have responded by giving a small gift and a word of encouragement, rather than just walking on by.