I was parked in front of the mall wiping off my car. I just came from the self-service car wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work. Coming my way from across the parking lot was what society would consider a bum. From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money.
There are times when I feel generous, but there are other times when I just don't want to be bothered. This was one of those I-don't-want-to-be-bothered-times.
I hope he doesn't ask me for any money, I thought. He didn't. He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop but he didn't look like he could have enough money to even ride the bus. After a few minutes he spoke. "That's a very pretty car," he said.
He was ragged but he had an air of dignity around him. His scraggly blond beard kept more than his face warm. I said, thanks, and continued wiping off my car. He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money never came.
As the silence between us widened, something inside said: Ask him if he needs any help. I was sure that he would say yes. I held true to the nudging from God and asked, “Do you need any help?"
I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments. I didn't expect it from him. He answered in three simple yett profound words that I will never forget.
"Don't we all?"
I was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a bum in the street, until those three words hit me like a twelve gauge shotgun.
Don't. We. All.
I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help. I had problems, struggles, and dissappointments. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare, but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day.
Those three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help. Even if it's just a few thoughtful words, you can give that.
You never know when you will see someone who appears to have it all. They may be waiting on you to give them what they don't have - a different perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily chaos.
Maybe the man was just a homeless stranger wandering the streets. Maybe he was more than that. Maybe he was sent by a power great and wise, to minister to a soul too comfortable in himself. Maybe God looked down, called an Angel, dressed him like a bum, and said, Go minister to that man cleaning the car, that man needs help.
Don't we all?
God's help is available to each and every one of us. All we have to do is ask, because, don't we all need help?
