Have I got a story for you! This morning after my quiet time by the water and cleaning the house I decided to walk into Carrboro and go through the Farmer's Market. For any who have never been, the Carrboro Farmer's Market is awesome! It isn't as big in January but still impressive especially for the time of year. Anyways, in the triangle, (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill for you out-of-towners) like any city, you have panhandlers and begger's. I almost never give change to these people for obvious reasons but every now and then someone will ask you to purchase food. In these cases, and sometimes when I am asked for money, I will try to find a gas station or fast food restaurant and purchase some food for the individual. I very much recommend this if you feel comfortable speaking with the individual. This leads to witnessing opportunities and amazing gratefulness in almost all scenarios. Unfortunately this is not always the case.
That brings me to this morning when a gentleman asked me if I could buy him a sandwich or something from a small restaurant. I thought about this and decided to take him down to the gas station on the corner and buy him something from there. I told him the plan and he was very grateful. At the station I found a nice big sweet roll and a banana for him and made the purchase. Upon giving the gentleman the food he proved to not be such a gentleman at all when he started cussing at me complaining that he didn't get the right kind of food. Upon this reaction I knew the best thing to do was calmly walk away a put as much space as possible between us. As I was moving he continued to cuss and flip the bird until he finally threw the food I had purchased at me. A girl came up to the intersection around this time, having seen the end of the tirade and naturally asked what happened. She was shocked when I told her what had set off the man. I said, "most of the time the person is very grateful but every once and awhile you get a lame duck." As we crossed I thanked her for showing up and witnessing at least part of the exchange and we parted ways. As for the guy, well when someone was witnessing he let a few more F-bombs fly as he was walking away and probably went in search for someone to buy him the right food.
I don't tell this story to stop people from serving, but to warn people that service will not always end in thank yous. Sometimes it will end with simple thanklessness, other times (rare) it will end in an ungrateful tirade. No matter how your service ends always remember that your generosity and caring heart will be rewarded eventually, even if it may not be an earthly reward.
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Luke 6:35
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