by: Rachel Neumeister
It is not for lack of a better topic that I chose to write about generosity for the second week in a row. No, it is because I had an incident this week regarding this topic that really drove the point home for me. It seems as though I can learn about something and think that I fully understand it, but until I experience it, nothing is gained personally.
I was working on Saturday night at Wimpy’s Diner, hustling and bustling about, keeping the hungry customers satisfied. There was an unusual vibe in the air; the day was cloudy and overcast, and the customers were just generally different, and I felt off (and I’m not just saying that to make things interesting).
Now, it is easy to become confident in oneself if one is regularly growing in the Lord, reading his Word, and learning from Him. I felt that I was making progress in my walk with the Lord, when a certain nameless man came and knocked me off my high horse.
The graying, boisterous man came through the door to the Diner looking disheveled and weary. He pulled me aside and started quietly rambling on and on to me about how he was hungry but had no money, and he would pay me by Monday, because that’s when he was going to get some money. He would give me anything I wanted as collateral – his wallet, his license, the coat off his back, anything – if I would just give him a meal.
I was so taken aback; I didn’t know what to do. I knew that it was against restaurant policy to let a customer eat without paying, but what if the money just came out of my pocket? Surely it would be okay.
The man was getting uneasy with me because he could tell I was deliberating. He continued to ramble about how he had been everywhere, and everyone kept turning him away; “not you too,” he said, “not you too”.
I told him to ask the cook, who was in charge at the time. As soon as the man had half a sentence out of his mouth, the cook said “no, sorry” and the man left in a frustrated rage, being turned down for the umpteenth time. As soon as the man rushed out the door, my co-worker asked what happened, and I quickly told her. She rushed out the door after him.
It all happened so quickly; I knew something was off about what had just happened, but I was so busy with other customers and I kept working. Awhile later when I had time to stop and think about what had happened, I asked my co-worker what she said to him. She recounted the conversation as follows:
“You need some food, sir?”
“Yes!”
“Here’s $5. Take it and get yourself something to eat.”
“Thank you! God bless you!”
When I heard this, I felt like I had been hit over the head with a board. This co-worker of mine, a non-believer, but someone who had experienced being that low and hungry, knew what it was like. She demonstrated before my eyes true generosity in action. She explained to me that yes, he may just be lying in order to get a free meal (which had been one of my suspicions), but the fact that he had to come into the diner and publicly beg for food demonstrates his desperation.
It is one thing to know in your head (and even heart, for that matter), what the right thing is to do. I know being generous is what a Spirit-filled life ought to look like. But when you are put in that situation where you are forced to make a decision right then and there, with all these ideas swirling in your mind, it isn’t so easy.
Oddly enough, the sermon the next morning was about our response to God’s generosity to us, and how we ought to do the same for others. It seems as though God was trying to teach me something!
If by any small chance that man reads this, (you know who you are) I am sorry for saying no; you taught me a great lesson that day. God bless you.
