Beggars

Sometimes strangers on the street ask me for money.
They tell me a desperate story.
I think the story is probably all lies.
Sometimes I give them money, sometimes I don't.
Either way, I hate it.

It's important to me to be in a community based on trust.
People who tell lies destroy trust.
If the story is false, and I give money, then I am rewarding people for telling lies.
I'm rewarding people for destroying a community of trust.

But what if the story is true?
The stories they tell are something that could happen to my brother or sister.
If something happened to my brother or sister, I'd want someone to help them.
I want to be part of a caring community, a community that responds to need with compassion.
If I say no to them, I create a cold, uncaring society -- not a community at all.