Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Good Samaritan Dilemma: To Help or Not to Help?

My Reply to a Friend who helped a beggar, and got treated nastily in return. ;-)

Just cos someone is poor and is a beggar, does not mean that the right thing to do is to give him money or free food. Often times, these people do the begging as a profession, and do not have pure intentions behind doing it.



I have witnessed before how my brother gave away a well-prepared sandwich that I very much wanted. Instead of giving me the sandwich, he was moved with so much pity to give the kids the sandwich we brought for us to eat. And, when the kids went a bit far away (after acting very pitiable), they just threw away the sandwich saying "Pwe! Ang pangit ng lasa! (Bah! It tastes bad!)" Then, they ran away mocking and laughing away like they were just acting and having fun all the time.

Rule or lesson to be learned: Don't just trust from the outward looks of a person. There is a difference between a person who is really in need, or the general poor who is always at need.

Maybe we obtained this sympathy from the example of the "Good Samaritan". But, we must learn how to distinguish the person who really needs our help. In the story, the person who got helped by the Samaritan was not a poor fellow, but simply a guy who got mobbed by thieves, and knocked off to near death. That is the person who really needs help.

Notes: Someone who needs help, when he or she receives help, does not have the right to choice, unlike in my example. Another thing is, the poor people (beggars in general) won't stay as poor/beggars if they had enough discipline and will to get out of their situation. I can say that my dad came from a poor family, but he managed to get us out of that situation. "If there is a will, there is a way." In everything we must practice good judgment and wisdom. ;-)