Needs: And the People Who Own Them

I used to view physical need as something straight forward in its simplicity: Person A needs a coat; Person B has a coat to give away; Person B gives coat to Person A. But I'm starting to think that detecting true need and addressing it is much more complicated than that. There are several Romanian gypsies I have encountered in a suburb of Dublin. When I initially met one on the street, I saw her holding her baby, and I was like "Yeah, I'll give you what change I have to buy food." A few months later I met the same woman on the top floor of a double decker bus, chillin' with other gypsies, and listening to music blaring from speakers connected to an i-pod. The bus trip stongly left me with the impression that I was a dupe. I don't have an i-pod. Who knew gypsies could afford them?! Something else I've been thinking about occurs at the soup kitchen I work at. Why is it that the homeless men (and some women) who seem to have the most need take less than the ones that look like they are not as bad off? It seems like it should be the other way around. Do you get less greedy the longer you're on the street, or do you just become more street wise and know where to get what you need to survive? Working with travellers has also got me thinking about neediness. I've had some travellers grab bags of clothes and bread before I had my arms fully extended to give them away. Sometimes I see some of the contents of the bags left in the street after the bags have been rummaged through. Do you still give when what you are giving isn't really appreciated, or maybe not even what the person wanted in the first place? And do you always give when you know you won't get a Thanks? The warning about casting pearls before swine (Matt. 7:6) occasionally comes to mind. And can you spread yourself too thin, trying to give too much so that in the end you're not helping anybody?
Well, maybe the fog will clear for me on this issue. In the meantime, I will be grateful that I'm not a Doctor who has to decide who gets the only donor kidney available. I guess I'll just have to give what I got, in the smartest way possible, and leave the details to the One who knows everything.