Acts 3:6
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
On our last day in India, we were able to to a bit of shopping. The streets were packed with vendors offering deals, but the lady who caught my eye was the one who held the baby and kept sending her small son to our group to hold out his hand and beg. It was a bit awkward, especially since they wouldn’t go away. It seemed that every time I turned around, the three of them were there, asking me with open hands and big, sad eyes for 5 rupees, which, in US dollars is about a dime.
We had been warned before shopping by the nationals that we should not give any money to the street beggars because many of the beggars don’t even keep the money. The system in India is so corrupt that they are often working for someone else who will not use the money collected to benefit the small child who moved your heart to give. In fact, some children are even purposely disfigured so that foreigners will be more likely to give. Of course, everyone on our team found it impossible to not give something, and when we loaded up in our vehicles and compared experiences, it seemed that we’d all given this boy and his mother rupees. It was at that point, sitting in a crowded car in the crowded markets of Delhi, that the Lord brought this passage to my mind, and I realized that my money had gotten in the way. Let me explain.
For most of us, our first reaction to any situation is to give what we have most accessible. The boy wanted money, we had money, and so we gave money. In Acts, the beggar wanted money, Peter and John had no money, so they gave him what they had, too. The difference is that they had Jesus. We give what we have, and for those of us in America, that is typically money. It’s quick, relatively painless (outside of the pain of missing another trip to Starbucks), and makes us feel like we helped someone. But God wants us to give more. He sends us to a world that needs healing, hope, salvation, and so much more that is found in Jesus alone. Perhaps it would do us good to reach into our pockets and find them empty. Maybe that would cause us, like Peter, to give away what they really need.
We give what we have, but when we have a lot, we’re guilty of giving what is the easiest. My prayer now, though, is that God will help me to give what is best.
Only then will people walk away with more than change in their pockets.
