Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?

Call me a bit of a jackass, but I tend to err on the side of scrutiny when it comes to encountering people who ask me for money on the street. Perhaps I am simply distrustful, or question people's motives when I have smelled my fair share of scams coming my way. I am a lot more compassionate than I used to be, but I still analyze every situation as it comes, rather than having a blanket response to anyone who asks me for money (or anything else) on the street.

Let me be clear first. If someone asks me for food, I will almost always buy them a meal. I actually don't remember ever refusing anyone. I think that's the compassionate and humane thing to do.

Money, however, is different. I shifted my view on this years ago from maybe giving money, based on a sermon I heard from a well known U.S. preacher, picking apart the argument that I don't want to give money to someone since they may buy drugs or alcohol with it. His point was that God entrusts people with money and resources, and every one of us (myself included) has been known to fart away money on truly stupid things. So essentially the argument goes, who are we to judge what the street person will do with the money. While I agree with this in principle, and in some cases, in practice, I have since shifted back to my original position when it comes to giving out money.

Over the past year, I have run into more people than I can count who have approached me near my office tower asking for money. It would be very refreshing if people were simply honest with me in why they want to bum a few bucks off of me. I also ask at the outset if they are hungry, whether they want food. Inevitably, they tend to say no. Then they will tell me that they actually are in need of money to buy a bus or train ticket. I happen to have a ticket or token or two floating around in my work bag, so will offer it to them. At that point, they turn around and say they really need the cash for the bus but won't expound further.

I recently had someone who asked me on the street whether I can give them a few bucks, as they need to make a call to their sick mother. I offered to let them use my cell phone to make the call, at which point they tell me they don't have the number on them, and they reiterate that they'd really like the cash. I tell them sorry.

There's a dude who hangs around the mall parking lot near our church, as well as occasionally at our church parking lot. This guy has approached me about six times in the last four years, and it's always the same old schtick. His car broke down across the mall, and he needs either busfare to get to where he's going or money to call the tow truck to come get his car - the initial story is the same, the details get conveniently interchanged. I've offered to let me use his phone and he refuses. I never give him money since I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a broken down car. Besides, I've seen other people give him money, and he never goes anywhere - just walks 100 meters or so and does the whole song and dance for the next person who comes by.

The last (and only) time I fell for one of these is a guy downtown Toronto who was dressed in a sharp suit who said he needed two bucks to take the subway, as he misplaced his wallet. My wife was with me at the time, and judging from the expression on her face, she would have preferred if I didn't give this guy money. I did, and he slowly walked towards the stairs from street level that descended into the subway station. My wife and I kept walking to our dinner destination. Once we rounded a building, my curiosity was piqued and I thought I'd just peek around the corner to see whether he actually went into the subway tunnel (I imagine that subconsciously, I suspected something fishy). Sure enough, the guy came out of the subway stairs and was hitting for other people for money. I don't like to be had, but I was pretty pissed that I fell for this scam. Never again, though.

There was a famous case in Toronto of the "shaky lady" - basically a middle-aged lady who looks and acts like a panhandler, who has been seen at various points in the city, including across from the office tower where I work. She will sit there, cap in hand (don't remember if she has a sign or not), but she visibly rocks back and forth like someone with autism. Well, an investigative reporter / show looked into it and the whole thing's a scam. The lady is actually from the suberbs, and this is her side gig to earn extra money. Pretty sad. Since that report, she's conveniently disappeared from the corner.

Now that I've detailed a bit on why my mentality on this topic was shaped to how it is now, I thought I'd address why I shifted back to my original position of not giving out money unless it's for food (and I'm the one buying the food). I won't aruge the point that God entrusts people with money and it is up to them to decide whether to use it wisely or not. The Bible is packed with stories of unwise decisions being made with resources. But that is not my point here. My point is that if someone wants money, but they lie to you about why they want money, I'm almost certain the money will not be well spent. Remember, that this is money with which God entrusts us, and His expectation is that we would, just like any other resource, use it wisely and in ways that will glorify Him. Giving it to someone who obviously does not have a good use of it in mind (since why lie, if it's a legitimate need) is careless. As with anything else, discernment is the key here.

The other argument that could be made is who am I to judge what people consider worthwhile things on which to spend the money, and what is considered frivilous? No one goes around asking people why they choose to buy a BMW convertible rather than a Pontiac Sunfire (well, people do question it, but the BMW owners aren't really listening, nor do they care). That is a good point, but once again, if we have a feeling that it is not going to be used wisely, it is our duty to question it, if in fact we take our role of stewards seriously. I always view dishonesty as a first sign that there is something fishy afoot, and in those cases, I distance myself from the situation. It is a far different story if, as I previously mentioned, someone were to ask me for food or water. Or if I notice some dude freezing in the cold, I will buy them a blanket. I have done this before for people and I have no issue with doing this kind of stuff.

Going along with the discernment theme, you also have to look at the demographic of who you are dealing with here. Again, this may sound elitist, and even (*gasp*) judgemental, but if you look at any study of street people patterns and lifestyles, you will see that many of them are addicted to tobacco, alcohol or drugs. If they don't want me to buy them food or water or clothing, but just want the cash, it doesn't leave me with a good feeling that the money will be put to good use. I am not willing to finance someone's smoking, alcohol, or drug habit. I wouldn't do it for a friend or a family member, so I sure as hell am not going to do it for a stranger. If you do not feel that street people have issues with these substances, I would challenge you to provide contrary information.