On one Sunday, I saw someone playing a super-loud hymn and begging for money in the middle of the road before the church service, which caused a buildup of traffic. As eight or nine hundred people poured out of the church building after a service, their electric bicycles, tricycles, and cars made not so spacious roads even more congested. Besides, believers would have mercy on the beggar and give money, which even could cause a road hazard.
So, I walked up to the beggar and said to him, "Please don't be in the middle of the road. There are many people now and this could cause congestion and danger." He looked unhappy, refusing to move. He had one of his legs curled up on the small flatbed, and the other leg like a powerful paddle taking him to beg along the street. He became even more unpleasant, stared at me maliciously, and reluctantly moved to the roadside.
In the following week, I met him twice in the city, as the voice of hymns was especially harsh resounding through the whole street. Maybe this was because he found that Christians were more caring than ordinary people according to his begging experience.
Some believers would say, "I don't care if he uses hymns to win the sympathy of believers. I just do good deeds. He cheated but he will pay the account to God in the future. "
Christianity means love, but love is not used to encourage greed, deception, unearned gains, or the way to gain on the piety of others! Besides, he is not a godly man. He just begged before the church service, without worshipping God in the church which was only a few feet away. Instead, he waited until the serice was over to play hymns and pretend to be miserable for begging purposes.
As public morals are declining, to beg for money, some pretended to be disabled, some used children to win sympathy, and some formed begging groups. Now the government manages to prevent these people from begging in certain areas and along the street. We should not undermine government management and encourage their behavior. Playing hymns to beg along the street is not an act of preaching the gospel, but it destroys the image that the church strives to establish in society. This begging behavior makes people who are already biased against Christianity more disgusted. Some unbelievers would not care whether they really believe in Jesus or not. They would define Christians as a group of parasites who are greedy, do not work, and beg for a living instead.
Others would worry that people really in need would not get help if we do not give them a hand. Don't worry! Even for those who are particularly in a time of difficulty, the social welfare from the government would get a monthly living allowance to the disabled, so that they could at least get their necessities. As long as they are not completely paralyzed and unable to take care of themselves, most disabled people can make a living with the help of the Disabled Persons' Federation and other institutions. In our daily life, we would prefer to help solve the urgent need, instead of continuing to help the poor, as in the end, we would have to work for a living by ourselves.
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
