They Beg, I'm Blessed!

Third world country. Developing country. Poverty. Paupers. Beggars. Burning sun. Streets. Homeless. Injustice. Cruelty. A million pejorative thought comes to mind when we're stuck in traffic coming or going to Beirut during rush hours.

About half a year ago I made a decision: I will keep loose money in my car and purse for whenever I see a beggar. Surprisingly, I got many lectures about how I am encouraging people not to find a proper work, or how I have no idea what this money is funding (some sort of theory that it's going to terrorists) or simply people telling me that I am out-rightly supporting child labour and such... Maybe they are right. It seems that I am always wrong when it comes to logic (ah well... I was born with limited functioning brain cells... which reminded me of one of the greatest quotes ever: There runs a strange law through the length of human history — that men are continually tending to undervalue their environment, to undervalue their happiness, to undervalue themselves. The great sin of mankind, the sin typified by the fall of Adam, is the tendency, not towards pride, but towards this weird and horrible humility. G. K. Chesterton.-- Do you ever wonder how the brain associate thought? I am there writing about beggars and bam! Humility and Chesterton then bam! brain association... Anyway!!)

So rolling the criticism off my back (the expression is I think, roll it off the duck's back, one dear friend taught me that and since I decided to make it my own... and to become a duck! (I already heard your laugh in my mind!)) I went on with my decision and gave one pound to each beggar I saw. Time flew, I did not become any poorer...I did not get any richer for that matter.

I was driving to work today (I guess this is becoming the "once upon a time" sentence to me) a beggar came, I gave her some money and she started to bless me saying things such as "May God make your future bright", "May God make you prosper", "May God protect you"... Every single time I gave some poor person a ride or money or whatever, they blessed me compulsively. That made it sort of mechanical or a habit to hear and it did not really trigger any thought until today! Today I thought, wow! I was showered with blessings for just one pound! And I thought, wow! of course God will hear them, God gives ear to the broken hearted! I thought since when the name of God was taken so lightly by those who hear it? like right yeah God will bless me just because you! said it?! YES! He will!! The name of the Lord, the psalmist says, shakes mountains and moves oceans! People dared not use His name Allah, Yahweh without reverence, awe and fear... or even really at all and some Jews/Messianic till our days will not pronounce the name of "I AM" and would even in typing type it Y-hewh... And I refuse to take it lightly!

I thought, I sure am buying blessings that count! I am truly blessed, come to think of it... More than I deserve! And maybe the lovely shouts of beautiful blessings did work in my favour, somehow...