Following up from my previous “flashback” post, which featured a Facebook status that detailed a priceless personal experience in Hip Hop at an underground 1994 Wu-Tang concert in Los Angeles, I have yet another experience that I feel deserves some attention.
Our friend Z M Wright posted a Facebook status earlier this week about his experience meeting a homeless woman. He spoke of some very interesting emotions and questions that came up after giving her $5. I can definitely relate. Check it out.
Today I got a feeling in my stomach that I never had before. A woman walked up to my car and asked me if I had “a few dollars.” I said “I sure do. What for?” she replied “to eat.” I felt an obligation as a believer in the economy (transfer of $) and God (being in service) to share of my good fortune. But as I handed her the 5 or so $ that was in my breast pocket and she threw a cursory “God bless”… over her shoulder I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Like I didn’t help at all. And then I was reminded of something I came across in the study of business and society. $$$ are a reflection of service. We may disagree with the policy of big oil but we can’t deny the value of the service, and we pay. We may disagree with the image of the pastor that profits but as a believer in the faith you can’t deny the value of the word to your existence and thus you support the institution. Yet, in my interaction with this woman begging at my window I felt no connection between her and service to anything (institutional or spiritual). I felt nothing, and that space, as she strolled away with her matching pink umbrella and sneakers made me cynical. What do you think?
So what do you think?
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