Daily Devotional – 3/6/12 “Pay it Forward!”

There was this young man who was homeless and would spend his days sitting in the subway station with a cup asking anyone who would help him for change. Each day this young woman would pass by in her expensive suit, expensive tennis shoes (her expensive heels were in her expensive bag), while talking on her expensive cell phone. Although she passed the same way every morning and every evening, looking him in his eyes, she never would place even a penny in his cup. After a month or so, the young man got up the courage to say, “Excuse me ma’am, can you spare some change?” She looked at him, again in his eyes, but never mumbled a word. One late evening, the young man was again in the empty subway when he saw this young lady pass by on her way home but this time he noticed a man, a suspicious looking man, following behind her so when she got ready to pass by he grabbed her arm. At this point, she is furious raising her voice asking him why he would put his dirty hands on her $300 suit. She kept ranting and raving saying I don’t know you and for you to touch me, you must want me to scream for the police. Finally after a few minutes, he let her go. She said, “The nerve of you to grab me like that, who do you think you are?” “I can’t believe you just did that,” is all she kept saying. Finally able to speak, he said, “Ma’am, please excuse me for grabbing on you but..,” she interrupted, “But what? What gives you the right or the authority to put your hands on me?” He said, “Ma’am, if you would let me explain. I grabbed you because there was a man walking closely behind you with a knife and he was about to snatch you and your bag and the only way I could stop it was to grab you. My apologies ma’am, I won’t ever touch you again.” She slowly stepped back to regain her composure because she couldn’t believe someone, a stranger who she avoided like the plague, would risk his life to save hers. Tears started to swell in her eyes and although her mouth was open, no words were present. He stood there just to make sure she was alright and when he started to leave, she placed her hand on his arm to stop him. With the tears now streaming down her face, she said, “Day after day I walk past judging you because of the way you look without even stopping to ask how you got in this situation or putting money in your cup even though I have it to spare. I never take the time to offer you a cup of coffee or the sandwich in my bag because I think I’m better than you and wouldn’t ever allow myself to be in your shoes but who am I? You risked your life to save mine after the months that I’ve ignored you. You risked your life to save mine even though you don’t even know my name and I never speak. Why would you do that?” He simply replied, “I’m just paying it forward. See, I didn’t ask to be in the situation that I’m in but when I got sick with cancer I lost my job then I lost my apartment and all my so-called friends but I never lost God. Even in the midst of my begging for change in this subway, God healed my body. Even in the midst of you and others ignoring my pleas for help, God never allows me to be hungry. Even when folks judge me without knowing my story, God never allows me to be cold while I’m sleeping outside. So, because God never forgets about me, the least I can do is be true to his word which says in Hebrews 13:16 “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” Although I don’t have much all that I do have, I’ll share with others.”

She stood in amazement at the mere sight of this man because although the world had forsaken him, he still stood strong in the midst of his circumstance. She couldn’t believe the strength of him and his will but she knew that he wasn’t alone because God was right there by his side. She put some money in his cup that night and she left there with the thought of him ringing through her head. He didn’t know this but she had connections in the city and after a few months, she reached every one of them to help her open a recently closed homeless shelter. She made sure it had all the resources it needed and she knew the perfect person to run it. She went back to that subway station and she grabbed him by the hand. She took him to the place and as they stood in front of the door he asked why he was there. She told him that the night he saved her life, he saved her and now she was returning the favor. She asked him to be the head of this homeless shelter, he would have a small apartment on the top floor, new clothes, health insurance and it would pay him a weekly stipend. He was amazed and gladly accepted. She took him back outside so that he could be the one to unveil the name and when he removed the covering from the window it read “Paying it Forward Mission.” See, she knew what God was doing in her life and the way she could repay him was by paying it forward to others who needed it.

When I read one of my fellow bloggers blog on this morning, it reminded me that no matter where we are in life, how big we are in our careers and although we may not be homeless or sick, we can still pay it forward. Philippians 2:4 says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” This doesn’t mean you have to help every homeless or less fortunate person that you see, but it means a little bit to you may be the world to someone else. Don’t throw away the clothes and shoes you no longer wear, donate them to charity. Skip eating lunch out one day this week and donate it to the Food Bank whose shelves are almost empty. Help somebody across the street, let the car cut in through traffic, volunteer or donate to your local shelter or simply whisper a prayer for your neighbor or coworker. You can never tell what a person is going through or dealing with so smile sometimes at someone else. James 2:14-17 says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” You are supposed to help one another, pray for one another and stand by one another because God has commanded you to do so. Take the time to bless someone else with a simple text, call or unexpected visit. While God is being good to you, pay it forward, by being good to someone else. Being a blessing brings you blessings. Well, that’s what God said. Don’t believe me, read Luke 6:38 which say, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” I don’t make this stuff up, study for yourself and you’ll be glad you did.