Tonight, after our evening service had concluded and most members of the congregation had left, a man walked into the church building and said he was seeking “help.” He correctly identified me as the minister and asked if he could present his request.
This man said he lived in the state of Michigan and he was on his way to Indianapolis, IN because his 2-year old son had been hit and killed by a car earlier in the day. His son had been in the custody of his ex-wife and she had failed to properly watch him.
This fellow’s story sounded sincere and it was convincing. After listening to what he had to say and asking if there were any other details I told him we always verify the details of a person’s story before helping. In his case we would be glad to give him the money he wanted once we verified his story with the Indianapolis police department.
After introducing the police into our discussion some subtle changes were evident in this fellow’s behavior. He said he understood that verification was necessary because “some people lie” and “we should check with the police while he went to his cousin’s house down the road to collect some money he was owed.”
In spite of the attempts to tell this man we would give him the full amount of money he wanted after verifying his story, he insisted on “going to see his cousin.” Although this was suspicious and suggestive of a con artist, if our visitor had truly lost his son a few hours earlier, perhaps the shock of the event was interfering with his ability to correctly reason. Thus, in view of his unusual claim, we agreed to call the police department while he went to see his cousin.
The police dispatcher in Indianapolis had not heard of a two year old being killed earlier in the day; he also said this type of event would have surely been discussed among the officers. The dispatcher finally suggested I check with the Coroner’s office so a second call was made to the morgue.
Fellow Christians waited with me at the building for a reasonable amount of time and the man never returned. The calls to the police department and the Coroner also failed to validate this man’s story.
The time spent with this man was interesting as well as insightful. Consider the following thoughts.
1. Some people lie.
2. Some of the lies people tell are “whoppers.”
3. The Bible teaches us to give people the benefit of the doubt, but we must be mindful that con artists are in the world. We have no obligation to help people be freeloaders.
4. Try to go the “second mile” with people, even if it seems they do not deserve it.
5. Jesus said if we could “gain the whole world” this would not be worth our eternal spirit. In our world there are those who will “sell their soul” for a few dollars or a free night in a motel.
Brad Price
www.abiblecommentary.com