Nik Naks – skinny, crunchy, baked maize meal snack. Closest thing you can find to Cheetos in Africa. A favorite among team SOUND.
I had the privilege of finding this beloved delicacy on our day off in Manzini this past weekend. I have to say, I was really excited to find the BIG bag on sale. My lucky day.
So, I have recognized this tendency I have of pretending like my day off means that I am not a missionary. I look for ways to reward myself for the week of work. Like snacks and other various trinkets (usually earrings). I felt really convicted when I passed a few beggars on the street asking for money and food. I found myself avoiding their plot of sidewalk.
In this recognition of my selfishness, I was reminded of desires that I want in life. Things that I feel God is calling me to someday. I personally desire to be an individual that makes money. Don’t we all? But I’ve said time and again that I want my life to be about how I can support those around the world. I see so many hungry people. I want to do what Jesus did. He fed the hungry.
So, I, who know no hunger, had some extra change and decided to get an ice cream cone. Maggie and I walked into Nando’s and were told that it would be 10 minutes before the ice cream machine was ready to serve us. So, we took a seat to wait. As we were sitting there, a child came up to me and asked for some food. My first reaction was to shake my head no. But this time, I had to stop myself. I slowly reached into my grocery bag, telling myself, “It’s just a damn bag of Nik Naks,” and handed it to the girl. She said thank you and walked away. There, good deed done for the day, right?
About 2 minutes later, she came back and asked for my plastic sack. She wanted to share with her friend. I thought she must be joking but I proceeded to empty the plastic sack into my purse and hand it to her. She said thank you again and walked away.
About another 2 minutes goes by before she comes in once more and asked me for money. At this point, I started to feel like she is taking advantage. So, I told her no. I had to explain that just because I was white didn’t mean I had a lot of money. This time instead, I took the chance to tell her why I was here in Swaziland. I talked about being a missionary and that I came to love on people and tell them about Jesus. She listened for a moment partially interested before asking once more for “just 1 rand.” My ice cream had just been handed to me. I guiltily told her no, took my cone and left the restaurant.
Later on, I was telling my team about the experience. I had expressed my opinion about how I don’t usually give money because I don’t know what the person will spend that money on. How do I know they aren’t just taking advantage? How do I know that they won’t spend it on beer or drugs? How do I know that it will go to good use?
Kat then shared this quick story she had read in a magazine that day. This story was written by C.S. Lewis. In the story, he explains how he is out and about with a friend one day and he is approached by a homeless man. The homeless man asks for money. C.S. Lewis’s friend says no and continues to walk away, but Mr. Lewis pulls out some cash, hands it to the man and then turns to catch up with his friend. The friend is infuriated and asks why Mr. Lewis gave the money when the homeless guy was most likely to just spend it on his drug of choice. C.S. Lewis responds while shrugging his shoulders, “That is just what I was going to do.”
The whole point of the story being that we refrain from handing out money to people because we don’t trust their judgment on what they will spend it on, but how is their vice any worse than our own? And who are we to make that decision anyway?
I felt compelled to write this blog because of this fact alone. Giving to others shouldn’t be about what we feel most comfortable with. I, who have been given so much by God, am expected to give that much more back to him. And to give to the poor and the hungry is to give to God himself, whether its Nik Naks, plastic bags or money itself.
