Close Encounter

I was driving to class at UC this morning, and a man called to me in my car at a stoplight. He was likely in his 40's. It was an interesting exchange to say the least.

Man: Excuse me (or something along those lines to get my attention)

BC: Yes (while rolling down passenger side window)

Man: Could you give me some money? I'm hungry. I need $4 to fill me up.

BC: (overcoming initial pangs of wanting to hold onto "my money", I reached into my wallet and pulled out a $5.) Here you go, this should fill you up even more right. (I did not get the joy/amusement I was expecting from this statement. I followed this up with a simple blessing). God Bless You.

Man: Um, I lied to you. I just wanted the money for crack. Do you want it back? (he said this with real humility. It definitely caught me by surprise. I felt compelled to reach back for the money, because I didn't want to help him with this purchase. Also, I confess I was a little perturbed about being "scammed" if you will.)

Man: (Now in a somewhat jovial voice as he pulled his hand back with the $5 still in his hand) I was just kidding about that crack thing...I'm actually suicidal.

At this point, the light had been green for I'm not sure how long, and traffic was starting to pull up from earlier lights. A car almost hit him. It wasn't that close, but the irony of this many saying he was suicidal and then a car blaring it's horn at him 2 seconds later was not lost on me.

The exchange was maybe a total of 30 seconds...no more than a minute. The way this man seemed to come "in and out of it" really struck me. There was definitely an oppressive spiritual force at work. The lying, the addiction, the suicidal thoughts. This man is dealing with some serious demons.

Saying "God Bless You" seemed to cut through this, if only for an instant.

...my worldly impulse is be mad at losing/wasting $5.

...my heart is thankful that the Lord let me see this humble man, to speak blessings to him and to witness another tangible example of how the enemy stalks his prey - and what I can do to combat.

I'm praying that man fills up on neither food nor drug...but rather on the love of Jesus.

I'm still chewing on this...maybe more to come on my new brother in Clifton. I'm hoping I see him again.

b