Justice Smith almost messed up “big time”.
He and his 5-year-old were coming back from the dentist, when they saw a homeless man in the median strip in the road.
Smith said on Facebook that he wanted to give the man some money, but didn’t have any cash.
His son Justus Mateo noticed the man as well. And then it happened…
“Uncoached, he insisted that I give the man the 30 cents he had in his pocket,” wrote Smith. “It’s almost as if he heard my thoughts and responded out loud.”
“I was more than happy he wanted to do this with joy (it means he’s been watching), BUT honestly I was hesitant. I didn’t want to give this man who clearly needed all the help he could get, just 30 cents. My own pride and thoughts of the homeless individual’s unknown reaction to receiving just two coins was standing in the way.”
“I quickly realized that I was the only problem in this situation and that the traffic light would turn green at any second.
“I then thought to myself, ‘Dude get over it. This is what we’ve been teaching him and now that he wants to give everything he has to offer in this moment, you’re going to let your personal self-centeredness ruin a possibly life-long, great memory and solid teaching moment?
“Leading by example is what we’ve been teaching him, so now let him lead. Let him give what he can to this man…”
He continued on Facebook, “I almost told my son, ‘Let’s wait to give until we at least have one dollar.’ I almost told our son by my inaction that what he had wasn’t enough. I almost showed him that what he sees as a good thing, and is in fact a good thing, isn’t good enough to make a difference in someone’s life. I almost taught him that pride was more important than helping another human.”
“Thank God I quickly snapped out of that foolishness.”
He then rolled down the window and said, “I’m sorry man, I don’t have any cash on me, but my son back here wants to give you everything he has right now. He just turned 5.”
“And my God… The smile on that man’s face lit UP the intersection and he said to Justus, ‘God bless you little man! Thank you so much!’”
“The only thing that matched the brightness of that stranger’s smile after that moment was…the bigger smile on our ‘baby’ boy’s face!!”
Mr. Smith also believes that a chain reaction of kindness started behind them that day in Nashville, Tennessee, as other people rolled down their windows to donate, too.
“Our little boy, without even realizing it, reminded me once again by his actions that it’s always about the heart. It doesn’t matter how much you have or how little; giving in love and sincerity will often bless others more than we think.”
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Give with a JOYful heart – freely – and God will bless multifold, packed down, flowing over, joyfully returning good to you. Paraphrased, of course…
God can’t be out-given, but it usually isn’t in direct money, but in so many other ways that count as much or more. For instance, I’ve got a friend bringing me a big bowl of chicken & dumplings in a few minutes… just because….
What a great reminder to us all. Such a kind young boy and his dad is doing a phenomenal job raising a good human.
Wonderful to see a little lad who’s been gently raised to give with love and compassion – and that it’s not the amount that counts, it’s the love. Bless him and his Dad.
I am most impressed that a Dad has the humility to learn about giving from his son.
There is no order of difficulty in miracles.