How I give TO THOSE ON THE STREET

BY CYRUS NJAGI

CHRISTIAN LIVING IS AN ADVENTURE. It takes one through trials and tribulations, but in it all, God is with us—and I've seen how we're never thrown into a challenge that we cannot overcome. There have been a few challenges and tests in which I've been unsuccessful, but there are those I've overcome, and they stand out as reference points in my spiritual growth.

Every day in nearly every street of my city, Nairobi, I've been encountering beggars. Some sit with melancholy, seeking the attention of passersby. Some wait just outside the shopping areas to beg from shoppers. Some walk along the streets approaching any smartly dressed person. Some are half-drunk. Underlying all these examples is the request for money.

My reaction to this has involved mixed feelings. Occasionally I would feel troubled, overwhelmed, full of pity, inadequate, or sometimes angry. Inadequate because I barely had enough cash in my own wallet at the time for the day's expenses, troubled for meeting the same beggar at the same spot each day, perturbed when I witnessed a beggar cursing a pedestrian for not giving money, or angry at parents who send their kids to the streets to beg and act as tricksters, telling sad stories so people will give cash.

As I frequently do when faced with a challenge, I sought answers in the Bible. The healing of the beggar at the gate "Beautiful" (see Acts 3:1-10) has shown me that encountering beggars is not only a contemporary trial; it's something that's spanned ages. This account has been a great fortress for me in knowing how to respond.

When the beggar asked alms from the disciples Peter and John, they responded outright that they had none. But they had something else in place of alms, something more precious. They offered healing to the lame man.

This story is very enlivening to me. It has enabled me to resist the subtle emergence of negative feelings and dismiss them. Instead, I hold my view firmly to the fact that whoever is begging is a child of God, created whole.

I've found that this is not being indifferent, but rather setting the ground for healing. Peter did not just hurriedly mince words with that beggar; he went further—"took him by the right hand, and lifted him up." This empowered me in one instance when a girl began to trail me, pleading for cash when I did not have any. I stopped, gently put my arm on her shoulder, and courteously and forthrightly told her that I had none. I went farther to converse with her a little. I remember politely asking her where her mom was. She said her mom was seated at a corner nearby, monitoring her. Then I courteously told her to tell her mom that not all pedestrians are always loaded with cash. I could read the girl's face warming up, and it looked like she was feeling cared for. She let me go on my way.

Simply ignoring a beggar, without affirming what is spiritually true or assisting with a modest sum when it seems appropriate, can't be a good solution. Indifference does not help anyone. I'm grateful for this inspiration because now I don't have to feel troubled or guilty that I don't have exactly what a beggar is asking of me. But I won't just ignore him or her either.

I can respond with the spirit of giving and give what I have, like in that instance with the girl. I can share true Christian love. I believe this giving is what Mary Baker Eddy wrote about in Science and Health: "The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth his brother's need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another's good" (p. 518). And this giving never impoverishes us (see p. 79).

When the beggar asked alms from the disciples Peter and John, they responded outright that they had none. But they had something else in place of alms, something more precious.

A quote displayed in many Christian Science church edifices says, "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need" (Science and Health, p. 494). I've seen this work when I've submitted to this spiritual law even when another person has a need.

When seeking to better respond in these situations on the street, I've also been inspired by St. Paul's words in Romans: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" (8:35). Reading this, I gather that nobody is separated from God, or supply, regardless of the situation he or she sees himself in. There are signs of hope for many in tough situations like these. Watching TV one night, I was encouraged by two blind gentlemen who chose not to beg on the street, and instead started to make jewelry for profit.

I'm committed to seeing everyone as "rich in spirit," even when begging indicates otherwise. CSS

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