Spontaneous Generosity

Published 3/23/2016

 

“Excuse me,” said a voice beside me. I quickly tore my eyes away from the glass case full of sweets and saw a middle-aged man had appeared next to me. “Sorry to bother you, but would you mind paying for this water for me?” he said, gesturing to the bottle on the counter. I gave him a smile and kindly asked him how much the water cost. When he replied that it was only one dollar, I quickly agreed to pay for it; despite my limited budget, I could afford to spare a dollar.

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To my surprise, the man then swiped the water off the counter and started laughing. “Oh, I was just kidding. You don’t need to pay for it,” he said. “It was very nice of you to be willing to though. I appreciate it!” Nervous and confused, I laughed along with him. “It’s completely fine, sir! It would not have been a problem for me to pay for it,” I said.

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We went on to have a friendly conversation, but the man soon had to checkout and leave. Nevertheless, my brief encounter lingered in my mind throughout the rest of my time in Atlanta for spring break. What was the purpose of him asking me to pay for his water if he could pay for it himself? Was it a test, or did he just have a weird sense of humor? I reflected upon this during our eight-hour drive back to Grounds and eventually concluded that, even though I would never know exactly why the man had talked to me, my encounter with him reminded me of the importance of generosity.

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By simply agreeing to pay for his water, I was able to tell the man about the work my mission team was doing with the Atlanta Dream Center, which helps and ministers to the homeless and disadvantaged. Although he was able to pay for his water, he could have truly been struggling financially, for a great amount of Atlanta’s population lives in poverty.

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If he were in need of necessities, the Dream Center would have been able to assist him. He also could have been searching for a church to join, and my praise of the Dream Center could have influenced him to attend its Sunday service. The man could have just been having a bad day and wished to see some good in the world. If this was the case, I was able to not only bring him joy but also show him there are people who genuinely care about others. Overall, no matter the man’s condition, my small act of generosity could have helped him in a variety of unexpected ways.

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As I settled back into U.Va. life after spring break, I thought about how I could be more generous on a day-to-day basis. As a student financially dependent on my parents, I certainly could not afford to be generous with my money all the time. Because of schoolwork and other activities, I also would not be able to hand out food to the homeless on a regular basis.

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However, my experiences in Atlanta showed me I did not need money or a large time-commitment to be generous. For example, when the men at the homeless shelter heard they could take more than one hotdog and yogurt, several got back in line so they could bring food to their families and homeless friends. Even though these men had very little themselves, they still had a desire to give to others.

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Learning from these men, I now have a stronger desire to be generous with nonmaterial things, such as kindness. By simply letting others get off the bus first or smiling at people I pass on the sidewalk, I can bring joy to others when they least expect it. As a somewhat introverted person, this may be a challenge for me sometimes; nevertheless, I know it is something I can make an essential part of my life.

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