“Give to everyone who begs from you…” Luke 6:30. There are some daily Bible verses I read and I wonder, “How am I ever going to do that?” Can’t I get some special dispensation?
This one popped up on my computer and I thought, “Okay, let me try.” That evening as I rushed to choir rehearsal, I passed a beggar sitting on the floor of the subway station. An older man with a cap on ground. Not a cent in it. “Try, Rick, just try,” I told myself. I dug into my pocket. “What do you need?” I asked the guy tentatively.
“I’m hungry,” he exclaimed.
“I’ve got half a roast beef sandwich in my gym bag. Would you like that?” I asked.
“Yes.” He gave me toothless grin. “Please.”
“Here.” I gave it to him. Quite frankly I wasn’t brimming with the warmth of charity. I was thinking about how that sandwich was supposed to tide me over until I got home at 9:45. Now I was going to be really hungry, my stomach growling. Well, at least I had responded to the Bible verse.
At church I met Carol in the choir room, just a few minutes before rehearsal. Not even time to get an apple. To my surprise she asked, “Do you want half my sandwich? I couldn’t eat it all.”
“Yes. Please,” I said. So much for God’s own supply-side economics. I was clearly in a state of surplus. “You’ll never believe what happened,” I said, my mouth full. It makes me think of another one of those daily Bible verses that pops up on my computer: “Give and it shall be give unto you…” (Luke 6:38). That’s two for one day.
