Weekly Reflection

Okay, this is an official warning: get a tissue before you read another word of this column.  You’re gonna need it. I used three. Just sayin’.

Nine-year-old Kelvin  had a dollar, earned for good grades in school. It was the only money he had. One morning, outside a Baton Rouge, Louisiana coffee shop, Kelvin saw a disheveled man in mismatched clothes and two different shoes. Kelvin approached the man, who he assumed was homeless, and held out the bill. “If you’re homeless, here’s a dollar,” he said. 

Kelvin told reporters that he’d always wanted to help a homeless person. He was happy and grateful to finally have the opportunity. He felt “joy, because I helped someone. Give something away, and you feel like you’ve got a lot of things from it.” 

Kelvin’s homeless man was Matt Busbice, a 42-year-old business man, the owner of several sporting goods stores, and a multi-millionaire. He told reporters that early that morning the fire alarm in his apartment building had gone off, so he jumped out of bed and headed out the door. 

Meantime, he learned that the whole episode was a false alarm. There he is, scruffy, hair going in all directions, scruffy clothes, two different shoes, probably a little bit out of it. Once he is outside, he realized that he has not said his morning prayer, and that he is outside a coffee shop. 

He sat on a bench to pray and get himself somewhat together, when this kid walks up to him, holding out a dollar bill.

 “If you’re homeless, here’s a dollar,” he said. 

Busbice said he had never felt richer. “I haven’t had that much faith in humanity in a very long time.” 

God’s divine timing at work.

A true, open hearted gift from a young man who probably doesn't have much, sharing what he does have with someone he thought needed it more. 

He surely didn’t know the homeless guy on the bench was a multi-millionaire. He surely didn’t expect what came next. 

Moved by the act of kindness, Busbice connected with the boy’s father and invited Kelvin into the shop for a snack. 

He also treated the child to a 40-second shopping spree at his BuckFeather sporting goods store, where he allowed the boy to pick out whatever he wanted, including a new bike. The businessman promised his new, unexpected young friend that he would stay in touch. 

For me, the take-away here is not the poetic justice of a good deed being rewarded. It reminds me of the story of the widow’s mite. Remember that one? 

In the temple, Jesus watches as rich people make a big show of delivering big amounts of money and other gifts, while a poor widow drops off two small coins, worth about a penny. Jesus says she gave more than anyone else that day. The rich folks gave a lot, but still had their fortunes. The widow “put in everything—all she had to live on” (Mark 12:42). Hers was a true sacrifice. Here was a woman in need of receiving charity, yet she had a heart to give. Such a tiny amount. Negligible. What could a widow’s mite buy? But she gave it in faith that God could use it. Her faith is evident in the fact that she gave the last of her money. Because God needed it. 

The world needs more Kelvins, to say I’m only a kid. But you’re homeless. Here’s a dollar. The only one I have. You need it more than I do. 

Isn’t that what it’s all about? 

The NC Synod Bishop's

Monthly Reflections

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