Homeless people don't turn nothing down

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18

I was exiting the interstate this morning and as I often do, I saw a homeless man at the intersection.  I usually don't do anything when I see these men, except maybe fiddle with the knobs in my car.  Sometimes I smile, but often I avoid eye contact, feeling weird about smiling at them while at the same time giving them nothing.  The cynic in me justifies not giving them money because they may use it for booze or cigarettes and I'd rather not help supply their habit.  The Christian in me tells me I should do something and not justify my way out of giving.  I used to keep cans of fruit, like peaches or mandarin oranges, in my car and for some reason, I stopped that practice.  This morning, I happened to have a bag of chips in my car.  I opened my window and asked the homeless man, "You want some Cheetos?"  With a grin, he said, "Honey, homeless people don't turn nothing down."

It got me to thinking about what it would be like to be at the mercy of others, having little enough that you'll be thankful for anything that is given to you.  Giving this man my Cheetos was very far from a sacrifice for me.  To be honest, he did me a favor and saved me having to bring the Cheetos inside (not very difficult, but I feel like my hands are full every time I go into the house), put them in the pantry, have them potentially sit there until I forget about them, they go bad and the ordeal ends by me feeling guilty when I have to throw them in the trash.

So my Cheetos man motivated me to clean up our overcrowded pantry today.  I found a jar of peanuts nearing their expiration date, so I packaged them in some baggies.  I actually had a moment when I thought about how we were taught as kids not to accept unpackaged food from strangers.  Would the homeless still eat the peanuts?  Silly, I know.  The homeless don't have the luxury of being so persnickety.

So I now have some peanuts, along with some other goodies, in the back seat of my car.  And even when I don't have anything to give and I'm feeling hesitant about giving a smile, I will remember Cheetos man's lesson.  Homeless people don't turn nothing down.