When you look carefully at panhandling, there’s another side to the coin
by: Rev. Rich Lang
A guy came up to me on the street, begging. He was a young guy and appeared to be physically healthy, although living on the streets can both break down your physical and mental health rather quickly. He wanted some spare change. So rather than just reach in my pocket for coins, I chatted with him a bit. One of my standard lines is to call attention to Real Change as a quick way to start making some money so that one can have a positive springboard to get back into life. But he didnt want to sell papers, he just wanted some money. So I asked him his age and he began to tell me bits about his hard-living, hard-knocks life.
Thats certainly a pattern. After all, kids dont grow up wanting to be homeless and beg spare change for a living. As we proceeded to chat, we talked about shelter options and employment options. Admittedly, all the options were slim pickings, but he really wasnt too invested in trying. He was defeated, discouraged, and really all he wanted was some spare change. That was his life now. We the people were ATM machines from which he hoped he could score just enough coinage to suck some beers down his throat and maybe find a place to lay his head.
And yes, I gave him some spare change. I find that if I simply look away, dont bother communicating, never take the homeless beggar seriously, then its easy to simply say no and walk away. But once I engage, actually chat a bit, its a lot harder to send another away with nothing but the words good luck or God bless.
Poverty never quits. Its bad enough to be born in a family and environment of hard living and hard knocks, and its increasingly bad to try to get work when there isnt much, to try to rent a room when there arent any, and, for a guy, to try to get a girl when youve got little but your increasingly banged-up looks to offer. Poverty of material goes hand-in-hand with poverty of spiritual means. Its increasingly difficult to maintain ones dignity as a bearer of Gods image when folks look at you like a worm. Its hard to believe that the sun will rise
tomorrow when everything in your vision is dusk or dark. Its almost impossible to believe that life is good when every moment is a struggle to survive, a struggle to escape violence and a struggle simply to eat, sleep and sit in safety. Beer helps, but its also addictive and diminishes ones capacity to hope.
Which is worse: poverty of stuff or poverty of spirit? Actually its a nonsensical question because they are two sides of the same coin. What we need are new coins that offer better options.
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When you look carefully at panhandling, there’s another side to the coin