Showing Mercy

A few days ago I was leaving WalMart and I was surprised by someone asking for money to buy food for their family to get them by until morning when they could go sign up for some "assistance program. It was late and I was in a hurry to get back to the comfort of home and spend a few minutes with Marla before retiring for the evening. Now just that morning I had read Luke 6:35-36--"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." As this person was "spinning their story of need" there were a couple of things going on inside. A battle if you will. On the one hand I was certain this was a scam and I was trying to rationalize why I should not help. On the other hand, I recognized the scam but was being prompted to offer to take the person inside and buy whatever essentials were needed to get them and their family by until morning. I chose to listen to my rationalizations, told the person I would not give them money and I walked away. Since then the words of Luke 6 have resounded in my mind--"for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." I have confessed my sin of insensitivity, of lack of mercy. I don't think we are to through our brains out the window, to ignore the fact that there are people scamming us, and just "willy nilly" start dolling out cash to everyone. I do think that in my own life and in the life of many in the church we have desensitized ourselves to Jesus' words in Luke 6. The Lord was kind to evil and ungrateful men and most of the time I am not. I think where possible we should give to meet a specific need rather than just give cash. But ultimately, God calls upon us to be merciful and what the people do with our mercy is between them and God and what I do is between me and God. If I could have a "do over" of that night I would like to think that I would have asked the person if they would like to go inside with me and I would buy them some staple foods (milk, eggs, beans, bread, fruit) to get them by until morning. If that person would have been agreeable to those conditions I would have delayed my arrival home by 15 minutes and would have been merciful as my Father is merciful. Had that person refused my overture and demanded cash I probably would have declined w/o pangs of conscience.