Hey, Maeve:

Don't mind if I do. Pass the plate over this way, if you don't mind.
I've got a big tray of lasagna baking in the oven.

This is the chapter for my book that evolved out of yesterday's post.

Love Lifts the Lover
And Jesus said,
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; For I was ahungered, and ye gave me meat…
        Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee ahungered and fed thee…?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I was ahungered and ye gave me no meat…
(Matthew 25:34-35,37,40-41)

My wife Ruth and I spent today in New York City. Among other things we did, we went on a quest for a McDonald's. Normally, we avoid McDonald's like the plague, but, we'd seen a program on the Travel Channel listing the top 10 McDonald's restaurants and one of the restaurants is in New York City. From what I remember, number 3 was in Hell. Their flame-broiled big Macs are supposed to be fantastic, served on a pitchfork. When we were in Asheville, North Carolina we went to the Mcdonald's across the street from the Biltmore Estate, where they have a fireplace and a player piano. The one in New York City, is supposed to have live entertainment and waitresses.
Not knowing the address of the Mcdonald's we were looking for we trekked from one McDonald's to the next, asking the people in each one if they knew where the fabled McDonald's was located. We never did find it. By the time our search for the holy broil fell through, I was hungry. We were at the fourth or fifth McDonald's, and we were tired of walking, so I suggested we eat there.
        No sooner had we sat down than a young black man approached us, asking for change. You could tell that he wasn't "seeding" the pot like they do in tip mugs, putting singles and five dollar bills in to keep you from throwing a nickle in there. This young man had a dime a nickle and two pennies in his hand. I didn't see him approaching, so when he asked me for change I shook my head, "No." After he moved on, I felt the desire to give him something, but I didn't want to pull a few pennies out of my pocket. When I pulled out my billfold and opened it, the first thing I saw was a five dollar bill. And I thought, "Why not? he needs it a lot more than I do." I pulled it out, walked over to the young man who by then had asked another dozen people with no success, and placed the five dollar bill in his hand. He stuck it in his pocket without looking, and then embraced me, repeating God Bless you brother! over and over again. I thanked him and told him that God does, and wished him a good day.
        When he left, I sat down to finish my McChicken Sandwich, my Mcfries and my McCoffee. Not long afterwards, the young many appeared again beaming from ear to ear. Apparently, he'd gone outside and fished the bill out of his pocket, expecting it to be a dollar bill only to discover that it was a five. He was so excited! He thanked Ruth and me repeatedly and once again asked God to Bless us. It was a sweet experience.
        When I lived in New York City, I found myself increasingly deadened to the people around me. It's hard to avoid becoming that way when you live there. It was the primary reason why I felt I had to get out of the City. Old voices would have said, "He's just going to use that money to buy drugs." And who knows, maybe he was. But somehow, I didn't think so.
Besides, thinking had nothing to do with it. It was an act of love. Love is never in vain.

Later, I remembered that Ruth and I had watched Sullivan's Travels the night before and there is a scene where Sullivan walks through the slums, giving five dollar bills to people who were down and out. We may not be that far away from a depression here, and maybe the image stayed in my mind. Whatever prompted me to pull out the five dollar bill, I felt good about it. Which reminded me of the chorus of a song I wrote a long time ago.
        Love may be fickle, Love may be vain
       Ignored or rejected, but all the same
       Whatever the cost, love is never in vain
       For love lifts the lover
And I felt lifted.

        It doesn't say in the bible how the people on the left hand responded to Christ's teachings about the needy, but I imagine they said something like this:
        "What are you talking about? The guy said that he was hungry, but he looked like a drunk to me. He wouldn't have used the money to get something to eat, anyway. He would have bought a bottle of wine. I work hard for my money. Why should I give it to someone
who's too lazy to work?"

        When you feel that God is putting it on your heart to help someone, don't analyze it. Just do it.

I'm glad that someone helped you, meave. They didn't stop to question whether or not it was convenient.

Jerry