(399) Good deeds?

A speaker in church happened to mention about symptoms people displayed before disappearing from church. One of them is not coming to Sunday Celebration. As my buddy missed two Celebrations, I took the trouble to find out why. Normally I would take it that anyone could be unwell for one Sunday and went away out of town the following Sunday.

Apparently he was "flying below the radar". A few months ago, he met a family walking in his housing area to the bus stop. Since he recognised them as members of our church, he stopped to pick them up. After finding that they did not own a car, he offered to take them home as well. And he regularly provided transportation for this family. 

All went well until the man of the family borrowed a hundred dollars from the kind driver. The way my friend saw it, a hundred is a small amount. Yet he was becoming wary. After all, he has a job and he has his commitments. So does the man of this family. It is not how much we earn but how we learn to live within our means. In a way, my friend does not even expect repayment. But he is concerned about possible future requests.

I view the whole thing differently. If someone approaches me for even fifty dollars, I would point out nicely that I only have about sixty dollars in my wallet on a weekly basis. If I were to loan it to anyone, my family would end up eating white rice and tuna fish every day. (I happen to have more than ten cans of tuna fish in my larder.) That is why I would not loan money to anyone. Not because I am unwilling, but because I don't have extra. Moreover, what I fear most are those who borrow small amounts and return them promptly. After building up a good and steady track record of borrowing and returning, one fine day that person may ask for a big amount and then disappear. The best course of action would be to refer such requests to the church committee. Should the reason for such a request be valid, then the church would be able to help.

It is sad that an attempt to be helpful backfires.