Beggars

On Wednesday night our team had our second poverty discussion. This one was specifically about how to deal with beggars. We each shared our experiences with them so far, and then looked at some passages from scripture. I won't go into detail on all of it, but I will say a little. It is certainly an issue everyone is struggling with and I think everyone has had experiences since getting here of both giving and holding back. We also didn't come to any final, all-encompassing answer about the perfect way to handle each and every one of our daily encounters with beggars.

We looked at several passages, but one in particular really struck me, Acts 3:1-10. There are many reasons I really liked this passage. A lot of them come down to the fact that it gives a wonderful example of loving a beggar, without really trying to answer any of the questions I often find myself stuck on. Is it good, bad, or neutral to give money? They don't have money, and they don't really say whether or not they would give the beggar money if they had any. You could argue all day on the question, but when it comes down to it, the passage doesn't give a clear answer one way or the other.

What they do give the beggar, even without the miracle is amazing. First, they both look him in the eyes. They acknowledge him and engage him as an actual person. I don't like to admit it, but it is very rare that I will acknowledge a beggar in that way. Heck, I have sometimes worn sunglasses specifically to avoid eye contact with beggars on the street. No matter what I do, surely it cannot be out of love if I don't treat them as a person. After that, Peter goes a step further by offering him a hand. I have rarely if ever touched a beggar on the street by choice. Many times they will cling to me while begging, and it makes me uncomfortable. They seem dirty to me and I don't want whatever is on them on me. All of this is dignity that they give the beggar. They could have done nothing else for him, and they still would have shown him more love than most beggars in Kolkata ever receive.

Then there's the miracle. A helpless crippled man regains a fully functional body. They gave him a gift that allowed him to work and provide for himself. They pulled him out of his poverty and despair in a way he couldn't have pulled himself. I don't really know how to do that for any of the beggars in Kolkata, but I really want to. I'm sure that often (perhaps always) God is calling me to smaller, less life changing acts of love. I need to learn to be faithful in those, and pray that God will use me for greater things too.

I'm not sure exactly how to tie this in, but it's an experience with a beggar during my second day in Kolkata that really struck me: I was in a group of four American males standing outside a sort of nice hotel. A beggar woman wearing a makeshift burlap saree came up and started asking for money really insistently. The hotel greeters told her to go away (I'm guessing at the words based on their gestures). She wouldn't go away, so they finally got out a coin (not sure how big), held it up and pointed toward the gate. They gave her the coin and then turned her around and gave her a little push. She did leave, but she was crying a bit. It was so so so de-humanizing to see them paying her to leave. It broke my heart but I didn't know what to do. I don't know the language and at the time I didn't have any money on me (longer story as to why not). In any case, I realized that if my giving was just a means of dealing with them and wasn't given out of love, then it was totally dishonoring to God. Then again, I can't say that just walking by them on the street as if they were scenery is any better. This was a very powerful experience for me. It didn't leave me with any clear answers, but it certainly convicted me of the importance of making sure that I only act out of love when dealing with beggars.