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October 15, 2021It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve been able to update you on my 90-day tithing challenge. It’s still happening, and it’s given me so much to think about and pray about!
A few weeks back, I wrote about a woman playing the violin outside the supermarket with a sign asking for money (with a venmo link!). About a week later, someone told me that I had been scammed by these women; they’d heard that this was something happening at grocery stores all over the place. The scam is apparently that these people can’t play the violin at all; they are playing recorded music through their electric violins. I immediately did the scholarly thing, and googled it. Here’s one article about it, and another.
What I found was that indeed, lots of people have been doing this; taking their electric instruments to “play” and attract people to give. I read a half dozen articles about it; in some places people confronted these faux musicians, demanding that they demonstrate that they could play a scale, and screaming at them when they wouldn’t, or couldn’t.
The whole thing got me thinking. What’s the scam here? Sure, I guess these people are getting one over on the rest of us in that they can’t play the violin or whatever… but, obviously they are in some need. If you think about it, the only difference between them and the people who ask for money without an instrument, with just a sign, is the music. The fact is, we can’t know why a person is asking for money on a street corner or in a grocery store parking lot… unless, I guess, we really want to invest in having a conversation with them.
We can’t, in an instant, vet every person who asks us for money on the street. But I have a feeling that it’s still worth it to give to whoever asks. Pope Francis agrees; when he was asked if it is right to give alms to people who ask for help on the street, he replied:
“There are many arguments to justify oneself when you do not give alms. ‘But what, I give money and then he spends it on a glass of wine?’ If a glass of wine is the only happiness he has in life, that is fine. Instead, ask yourself what you do secretly. What ‘happiness’ do you seek in private? Or, on the contrary to him, you are more fortunate, with a house, a wife, children, which leads you to say, ‘Take care of him yourselves’. Help is always right.”
I’ve gotta say, after wrestling with this idea, I’m with the Pope on this. I’m not here to be the judge of whether a person deserves help, or how a person is meant to use my help. My job here in the world is to help, when and how I can. And honestly, until I’m really ready to invest in the lives of the people I pass by engaging them in conversation (which I did not do, when I had the chance, in the grocery store parking lot), it’s the least I can do, to help a little.
Of course, one way around this psychological battle I’ve engaged myself in for weeks is to give intentionally to agencies, who really can do the vetting that I’m not willing or able to do. Next week I’ll share with you some of the organizations I’ve helped in the past several weeks.
