Judge Not. 5/31/2026

 Good Morning,

The air is cool and crisp this morning. My hot cup of Door County Hazelnut Coffee stepped up to warm up my morning. It is time for me to write.

Quite a few years ago I went to pick up my wife Rene from work. We were going to shop for a new car for her. The day was super hot outside and before I picked her up I decided to purchase a cold Dr. Pepper for her.

Matthew 7:1 NKJV Judge not that, you be not judged .

I pulled into the parking lot of a Walgreens and as I approached the front door a man with a sign greeted me. The sign said "In Need Of Food. Please Help." 

I had a five dollar bill in my pocket and felt that I should help this man out. He had a white cane and was wearing dark glasses. He played the role of being totally blind. When I greeted him, he asked me how much I was dropping into his collection can. He said, "I cannot tell how much you have given me. So I don't know how much I have to spend for food. I am blind. Change is easier to tell how much is in the can by the size of the coin." 

I did not have any change and offered to go into the store to obtain coins. He told me not to bother, just knowing there was five dollars was good enough. He thanked me and I went in for the Dr. Pepper.

When I came back outside I now had 50 cents in change and was going to donate that as well. But my blind poor soul was driving away on a bicycle into extreme traffic. He wasn't blind at all. I was scammed. 

My wife was happy to have that cold soda. She listened to my account of the smarter than me beggar and how I was angry. "I said to her "this guy is probably just going to buy some drugs or alcohol with my money." Rene said to me. "Just be glad that you never had to ask for money and scam other people. Don't be so quick to judge. You don't know what brought the man to need to beg. Just be glad that you never knew what it was to be addicted to something or just plain out of work and needing something to eat." 

I never knew that my kind act to the not so blind guy was going to get me chewed out by Rene.

The point for the day is this. I jumped to a conclusion without knowing why a man was desperate enough to lie and beg. It really was none of my business. I was out 5 dollars or was I? I helped someone for the right reason and learned a lesson on not judging others. The whole scenario was between God, the beggar and I believe I was included to see what kind of heart I had without writing my own conclusions.

Look before you leap.!!

Marty