July 6th, 2020: Who is This Man?

 

It was one early morning, and I was up. I was reading in my study. Suddenly, there were noises in the back alley. It sounded like someone was going through the recycling bin. I peeked out of the window and saw an elderly Asian man was doing just that. I left a note for him on the same recycling bin the next day and asked him to come back every Saturday and pick up a bag from us at the back gate. He has been regular about doing so until two Saturdays ago. We have no idea what happened to him.

I don't know this man, and something has stopped me from pursuing the idea of meeting him. It was not respecting his privacy that stopped me. It was not my fear of meeting strangers that kept me away, my reluctance to help that held me back. The truth is that I was afraid that I would be too angry if I learned that he has children who live in our neighborhood. People who live in this area are not hard-pressed economically. Why would they let their father be out early morning to do that kind of work? He might have some mental health issues. I don't really know for sure. Regardless, I was only struggling with what I saw.

I need to be aware of my self-righteous response because I don't have the whole story. Maybe the son or daughter is sick and can no longer take care of the financial needs of the entire family.

Maybe he is a proud man and doesn't want to ask his kids for money. It is hard for him to find work at his age, picking up cans is what he can do best to make some of his own money.

Maybe he is not from our area at all. Someone could just have dropped him off because it is a neighborhood that is keen on recycling. He could have found out that it is easier to do that here than some other areas in the city.

In the end, no one knows why he has not shown up for a couple of weeks. It is one of my moments of regret because I didn't do what my hunch told me (in Christian language, we sometimes say the prompting of God's spirit). I hope and pray that he is well considering his age, and that we are still in the pandemic.

Philippians 2: 4

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.