We’re all heard about TikTok by now. And for all of the negativity and junk that is on there, it’s also a place for great support, information, and some videos that leave my face hurting from laughing so hard. As with anything, it’s what you make it out to be. If you watch and interact with garbage, that’s what keeps getting pushed to you. Alas, that’s not what I’m here to talk about today.
Today, I want to share my thoughts about a video I saw the other day. (You can see it here.) For those that don’t want to go to TikTok, here’s what it says:
When I was younger, but not so young that I still believed all people were good, I saw my grandfather give $20 to a homeless man begging outside our church. “Why did you do that?” I asked him. “You know he’s probably going to buy drugs or alcohol with it right?” He said, “You know kiddo, if he says he needs it for food and then use it for drugs, that’s a detriment to his character. But if someone has asked me for help, and I have the means to help them and refuse, that’s a detriment to mine.”
Think about that for a minute. Seriously. Stop reading and think about that. If you’re like me, you’ve said the exact same thing before. They’ll just go buy alcohol with it so why should I? Now, I have walked into the restaurant before and bought a meal but I would always shy away from giving them cash. Is that my place though to judge this person? What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Plus… if God can give us all talents knowing full-well that people WILL waste them, who am I to not help when I can.
Maybe you don’t have the means to give them a $20. We are still in the midst of a pandemic after all! That’s ok. I would challenge you to think about even that though. Is there something you could give up that would free up that $20? I’m not telling you to stop spending your money and things you like to do and I’m not saying you can’t do fun things or have toys. What I’m challenging is to think about that Starbucks coffee, or McDonalds soft drink, or that extra time eating out when you didn’t need to. What if you skipped that just once a week? How much more could you help someone?
Are there people who will take advantage of that. You can bet on it. We live in a fallen world after all. That’s not a reflection on you though. It’s on them. If you know for a fact that someone isn’t legit, sure! But I would bet most of the time you’ve been approached, you had no idea if they were going to buy food or a bottle of Jack. That is NOT wasting the talents God has given you. Failing to provide help when you’re asked and you have the means to assist because you don’t know that they’ll do with it… THAT is wasting your talents.
Don’t waste them.
The Peg Leg Dad 