William Powell Frith - Poverty and Wealth (1888)
Something beautiful and daming happened this Sunday afternoon.
My sister-in-law, my nephew (3 years old), and I decided to have lunch at KFC (City Tower). And as we entered and sat down, and ordered our meal, I suddenly noticed these little child beggars peeping inside from the glass windows.
And, of course, I became very disturbed, as if I was in a dystopian movie. The image was all too real and uncomfortable. People sitting inside, sipping their colas and eating the fried chicken, fries and burgers, and these child beggars (maybe aged 8–9-year-olds) looking inside, perhaps waiting for a morsel. But that day, I didn’t have time to think about them, and so i shut my mind- became 'non-active' when a rich opportunity rose before me to serve the Lord..
You see, I was too occupied with my world-sweet nephew, who at 3 is very restless and, yes, a tad naughty. And the discomfort of the AC not working properly inside KFC in that Dimapur humid summer was disturbing me more than the fact that kids were begging outside, while we were inside having our Sunday KFC meal!!!
As we got ready to leave, I noticed my nephew had rushed off somewhere again, as it is his nature to be constantly on the move.
I saw that he ran towards the glass door, and was talking and smiling to someone- when I turned, I saw that it was a female beggar who was sitting by the door outside. It looked like he made a new friend. He was utterly oblivious to her shabby clothes, her looks, the colour of her skin, and maybe even her smell. My nephew kept looking at her, smiling and trying to make conversation.
We walked out and got inside the car, and it was then I saw her face clearly, she was smiling back at us, or maybe only to him. A forlorn look on her face, but smiling, and my nephew smiled again and waved and waved bye-bye like he just made a new bestie!
That’s the beautiful part – and I get it why Jesus said, unless we become like children, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
Now the daming part is my inability to be missional, let alone a good Christian.
Sometimes I think we have so many beggars and homeless people in our town because God wants to test our hearts. And that Sunday, I failed in three ways.
I failed because to me, comfort was more important. Usually, I would always buy food, a drink, a meal or a coffee whenever I encounter beggars in Bangalore, Nijmegen or Berlin. But that day, in my own hometown, I had no patience to walk back in and stand in line and order a meal at KFC because the Air Con wasn’t working inside that day, and I wanted to get out as quickly as possible. (Dimapur Summers are intolerable for me because of the humidity, not that it's an excuse).
Second, all my attention was on my family, my adorable nephew, and everything else became obsolete that day.
And the third part was me patronising my sister-in-law for giving money to the female beggar, because one should not encourage begging, forgetting that famous Mother Teresa quote that I have quoted/cited numerous times, “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”
Because I refused to give money, since I usually provide a meal; however, in this case, I was not even able to do both, yet I found myself correcting someone who was at least doing something- a good act, a small act out of great love.
Perhaps my sister-in law saw that this lady who was begging, was also a mother like her, and this is her only means of income- to fend not only for herself but for her children, or maybe if she doesn’t earn enough that day, the ‘goons’ or illegal criminal organization that is in charge of these organized beggars would beat her later, for not making enough money. Numerous reasons to do a good deed, zero reasons to do none!
The beautiful act of being nice, seeing them as humans, as friends even, was done by my three-year-old nephew, and the beautiful act of empathising and being compassionate and generous was done by my sister-in-lad. Meanwhile, me- zero.
In my hurry to get to Nirulas (ice cream parlour) because the Air Con will be working there hopefully, and I wanted to get away from the humidity as quick as possible. Being a slave to comfort, I failed my Christian duty that day.
And so, the Holy Spirit convicted me- reminded me that yes, I failed, and I failed big time that day.
I pray that the next time, no matter how hot or cold or uncomfortable, I will have the wisdom to love like my nephew and my sister in law, to continue to see the poor in our midst, as an opportunity to do good, and serve and honour God- That Sunday, they were the beautiful ones, and I the damned...
Matthew 25:37-45
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
