Free Money
My friend Peter Nevland usually spends his time traveling the world blowing minds with his slam poetry, but a while back he decided to see what would happen if he gave away money on a street corner in Austin, TX. Kind of reverse panhandling …
“Just give it to someone who needs it more”, which can be translated, “I don’t need help”. We are so afraid of not being able to take care of ourselves that we can’t receive a blessing. We don’t need any help, we can take care of it ourselves. Give it to someone who doesn’t have it together as well as we do. We can take care of ourselves.
We were taught not to accept a handout, and we won’t. Even if it’s just a blessing. We won’t take it. We can make it on our own. I think that’s why so many people have trouble giving and accepting God’s abundant grace. As often as Jesus and the apostles tell us we can’t earn it, we keep trying. And we judge others who don’t measure up while trying to hide it when we don’t measure up. It is possible to be prideful and full of shame at the same time. Believe me, I know.
The few times a year we kind of help the poor, we do so to pat ourselves on the back and have footage for the church promotion video, not because we want to extend the grace that was given to us. We don’t need it. We can take care of ourselves.
