I wanted to take a minute and thank pinkagendist. This wonderful man, after reading my many weird posts, and still returning anyways, decided to help a fellow penniless smoker out, and bought me a real E-Cigarette in order to help me quit smoking. And he did this all the way from Spain!! This guy’s beliefs are in contrast with mine, and yet while he asks me questions, he’s never been insulting or rude. We agree with some core issues about bullying and some about politics. Plus, his little rants make me laugh. He has a great sense of humor. I consider this person to be a friend, and even if it makes his hair curl, I’m praying every good thing in the world for him.
I tend to believe that God‘s principles work for the Christian as well as the not-yet reborn. I find that even people who do not believe who give money to charity are blessed with a return, and I am praying that pinkagendist gets 10 times what he has given to me. If my Christian brothers and sisters would do the same, I would be truly appreciative.
Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
I know a ton of Christians, but when it comes to being givers, there just aren’t as many out there as you would think there would be.
Christianity is not some exclusive God Club that we must only congregate with each other…it is a war in which we are trying to save people who have not yet been rescued. The unsaved are not our enemies…they are the people we were sent here to try to save. Satan is our enemy. Sometimes, even I need to be reminded of that. I think it is good to remember sometimes that these people are the way we once were, and should be given the respect and empathy we had hoped at one time someone would have given us. Love is what led me to Jesus, not insults, and not proof and debate. Pure love and acceptance and understanding. I hope pinkagendist knows that I only hope for good things for him.
You have no idea how much this act of kindness means to me, Pink! I hope you have the best couple of months you’ve ever had. 😀
You’re friend,
Bird
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46 responses to “Pinkagendist Gives Bird A Gift”
A baby tiger!? Cool!!!! You’re blessed indeed. I hope the electronic cigarette works for you! 🙂
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Me, too!
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Yes, it is war.
About face!
March, two, three, four!
🙂
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What a kind man, and what a kind gift. 🙂 Enjoyed this post.
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Thank you; especially for the final paragraph which sets everything in perspective. to love our neighbor as ourselves is a pivotal indicator that we have been born of the Spirit. Blessings in Jesus name.
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Lovely when you don’t judge, eh?
My son quit with the e cigarette. I am six years smoke free and could only do it cold turkey.
Wishing you success! Even said a prayer.
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Hoping this works for you — that you kick the cigarette habit. God please you!
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Awesome!! And yes, sometimes it is not the Christians who help us out so selflessly, but people we might never have even thought would. My husband and I went through some extreme hard times a few years ago, and we were shocked and dismayed on some who turned their backs on us, while others surprised us in just the opposite way and went above and beyond…simply out of the kindness of their hearts. I think of the story of the good Samaritan. We know nothing about the details of his life…just that when others passed the injured man by, he took care of him. Thanks for sharing this, Bird…awesome, and I will pray for Pink. 🙂
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OMG, I totally missed this!!!!!!! This is sooooooo sweet of you 😀
So now we have Oklahoma, rifles and baby tigers in common- and we’re smokers. It’s getting too weird!
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I’m telling you..you might be my brotha from anotha motha!!
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I think we might both be a bit too pale to be brotha and sista (unless you’re wearing a blonde wig) and I’ve been bathed in clorox bleach 😀
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I’m milk white, and have never held a tan to save my life. My hair is reddish blonde and I have freckles…so maybe our motha is more of a moth-er….lol! Having said that, though, my mom is Italian and I’m the only one in 5 kids that looks like this. The other 4 have dark hair and they can tan like nobody’s business….schmucks.
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I’m freckled… I had them them peeled off my face with acid, but check out my shoulders and torso (I look like a map of the solar system): http://pinkagendist.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/shirtless.jpg
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lol..Mine too. My face doesn’t have many, but oh my God, my back and arms are just covered…I grew up on South Padre Island and Mom never introduced me to sunblock. Scary thing now is that my Dad had skin cancer… 😦 I pay a ton of attention to those freckles!!
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You’re pretty handsome, Pink! And actually, yes, we could be related…you look like one of my brothers!!
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…and BTW, it’s been a real pleasure getting to know more about you 😀
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Same here, Pink!! Some people I just hit it off with quick, and you’ve been one of them!
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I wanna hold a baby tiger 🙂
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They had this place in Missouri…Coffeeport, I think was the name of the town, and we pulled right in and I got to take a pic with the baby tiger..It was right before my motorcycle accident.
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You wrote, “I know a TON of Christians,, but when it comes to being givers…”
If you get my brother started on that, you’ll be listening for a long time!
Two reasons I can see:
#1 Many Christians have swallowed the idea that God wants to bless them financially. In order to help this along, they are “frugal” and pretty hard bargainers. A display of bling is necessary to demonstrate the blessings of God.
#2. Most Christians are from a middle-class background and think much the same as middle-class non-Christians. The mindset is just different, much more into acquiring and taking good care of what you have. And this is not wrong.
Having grown up among what I call the English poor, I see a huge difference in attitude toward money & possessions. (“English poor” as opposed to immigrants struggling to get ahead. We’ve had all the advantages of language & culture but are poor like our ancestors have been for generations because of spending choices we make. Money buys a “good time” rather than stuff.)
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Technically, I’ve been a Christian for 36 years and have belonged to a large number of churches, plus went off and on to a Christian school and moved 36 times before I was 17 years old. Yes, I know a lot of Christians, and giving isn’t all that common. That being said, I am from a poor family, and know a lot of poor families, and they seem to be more in tune with giving than say some of the wealthier people. It seems the more money the people I know have, the more they suspect people around them of trying to take it away from them. Not cool. But it is their money to do with as they please…
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You’re right,: lots of poor families–and pensioners–are more in tune with giving…etc. My husband did some income tax returns once: an elderly couple with a combined pension income of about 25,000 donated over $5000 to charity, while another young couple with a combined income of over $100,000 donated about $100.
But I also think of my Dad who bought a fur coat for a street lady because she’d just had a baby and it was a cold winter. Noble idea, but he used the mortgage money to do it and they couldn’t make their payment that month. Enough of that and they lost their house; then his own family was out of a home. A big heart must team together with a wise plan or disaster results.
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Interesting idea… so let me stir the pot. There are lots of nice, caring and giving people in the world, but there are also people who are shockingly selfish. I think generally people who have had a hard time- whether emotionally or with drugs & alcohol, or with money, all know how it feels to be down, so we can relate and don’t want to see other people in that situation.
My theory has always been one of weighing my needs (and I mean real needs not imagined ones) against other people’s needs. For example, is it more important for me to go out to dinner this Saturday and spend $100, or did I run into to someone to whom that money could make a small difference? For me, it depends on the week.
On the other hand there are people who no matter how much they have are always about doing things that first and foremost make THEM feel great, even when they’re giving. I know a lady that every year does this huge charity party, it costs her 50,000 euros (that’s about 75,000 dollars), and the donations she gets are about 50,000 euros. Of course she can do whatever she wants with her money, but her “giving” isn’t really about giving, it’s about being a big hostess and throwing a huge party and having people think she’s “Oh, so generous.”
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Going to have to agree with Pink on this one…
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Was it Aristotle or Plato who said that people will have compassion on someone if they realize the same thing could happen to them. And if they do not think it they will not have compassion.
Yet, some of the beggars that show up at our church door need to have such compassion. What if someone was always at their door, wanting money, not wanting to work, not wanting to hear about how to have a better life, not wanting anything but the money . . . They need to think about how that feels. Really
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Katharine,
I’m really hoping that was sarcasm…
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Pink. Katharin isn’t sarcastic ever, but she never has a malicious intent either.. she is talking about lazy people..not so much just homeless people. Katharine, I get what you are saying, but God didn’t instruct us to judge whether someone’s motives in borrowing money, etc. are correct,. And my dealings with homeless has proven to me that laziness tends to be the lesser of the things they are struggling with. Mental illness seems to be rampant, and I very much hurt for them. Jesus said to give when we could, and sometimes, people misspend the money you gave..it happens. My opinion is the minute the money, or whatever you are giving, leaves your hand, forget about it. People are not suddenly answerable to you because you helped them out…that is where all the hard feelings tend to come from. And what is important for you to spend your money on may be different for another person. For us, going on at least one date a week with each other outranks quite a bit of things other people would consider more important.
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If it wasn’t sarcasm… then I have to take issue with some of those points. She says: “What if someone was always at their door, wanting money, not wanting to work, not wanting to hear about how to have a better life, not wanting anything but the money . . . They need to think about how that feels.”
Not to be too obvious, but homeless people DON’T HAVE A DOOR. They might have a cardboard box, but even that doesn’t have a door. Most of them have had serious emotional/mental/family problems, many come from abusive homes. Many others are war veterans. I don’t think anyone wakes up one morning and decides: You know what, I’m tired of eating food at the table and sleeping in the comfort and heat of my bed, what I want now is to sleep on park benches and eat other people’s left overs.
C’mon, it doesn’t take that much imagination to know something pretty screwed up happened for people to end up in those situations.
And I know the next thing someone is going to say is that it was their choice to use drugs or drink or whatever, and that may be true, but I guarantee it wasn’t their choice to let it take over their lives. Some people are naturally stronger, and circumstance have a lot to do with it. I think it’s pretty easy to cast judgement if we’ve never been abused, never been to war, never ended up penniless on the street…
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Agreed. I find that the common denominator among the homeless people I’ve interacted with is some kind of trauma that paralyzes them mentally. One time I gave a larger bill to one of them mainly because I didn’t have something smaller..It was $20, which tends to be lot for me, and this person I was with chastised me saying they were just going to go get drunk with it. Good. Go get drunk if that’s what gives you a little peace. I blew her mind ’cause I told her I didn’t care, and if I were homeless in living the kind of life this person was enduring, I’d probably stay as drunk and/or high as I could. No one would choose that horrible, dangerous life just because they didn’t want to work..no way I’m buying that.
I don’t care what people do with the money that I give them. My blessings come from the Lord, and He sees my motivations when handing it over. The rest of it is none of my business.. 🙂
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Also, God wants to bless us, period, but He never promised us everything our hearts desire…that Prosperity Gospel isn’t true.
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Okay. Bird, I love the way you love to take up someone else’s defense, bur really, I’m okay, here.
Pink, I did not mean anything so totally off the charts offensive. (I am not a very politcal-minded person, so at first, I thought you found the sarcasm in my question about Plato, et al, as if I was mocking those who would know which one said it. I’m an intellectual. I should know who said that, as I have taught it so often, but also am 61 and cannot remember. Sighs. I’m thinking maybe it was Socrates?)
I just deal with lots of decision making on the charity topic, and it doesn’t really matter why, but I am in a unique situation. Anyway, if I know that when I give money to someone, it will go straight to the bar instead of to the grocery store, I am feeling guilty right away, especially if little ones still go hungry. And also guilty if I don’t give, because it feels so crummy to say “no”. And I could use some help around the house but no one wants a job.
I am totally aware of what it feels like to be poor. I was raised in a shack that had newspaper for wallpaper, only cold running water, no bathtub, so we only got “washups”, mice, roaches (all 3 kinds — you did not walk anywhere barefoot in the dark), one little heater in the living room, no vacuum so we swept carpet with a broom, curling linoleum with the middles worn down to the black, hand-me-downs from a wrong-sized cousin, you get the picture.
My parents got that way because my dad was laid off from his factory job and was not fully educated and never did find another job and did not know how to overcome the depression of it because his dad always maltreated him. Also, my folks fell for every charlatan salesman that rang our doorbell.
Granted we had this crummy little (2 br for 7 folks) shelter, we had electricity most of the time so my mom could do ironing for the public, there was a car that billowed black smoke and had to have one of its doors tied shut, so we were rich by some standards.
What I remember most though, and maybe this colored my response here, too much, was that if we got any money in our family, it went for my dad’s 2-pack a day habbit — up in smoke. I never had much of anything, growing up, although UNTHINKING people were quite generous towards us. It would have served us better if they’d given us quality food and maybe one cute outfit for a certain very skinny girl, or some gloves. Gloves that fit would have been nice.
They threw their money away on the good feeling of no guilt about our poverty, instead.
So, poor me. I totally don’t get it. Too scrambled from my youth, I guess. And maybe that was every so slightly sarcastic. Abraham Lincoln said that sarcasm is the quetionable tool of questionable intellect, I do agree, and I am not proud of the times it just seems so necessary, but also, really partly believe I am out of my league here, in this conversation.
I do apologize, Pink. I tend to be too tart at times. I back down. I spoke before I thought.
Really, any friend of Bird’s is a friend of mine. I am so completely enchanted with your gift to her. I should have just read and smiled. Really.
Truce?
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lol..Ok. Since you admitted to being sarcastic, now I’m a dumb butt…. 🙂 I see that you can take care of yourself..Sorry! I get defensive of those that I care about, and in this case I love both of you!!! But, seeing how you are more educated and have lived longer than me, I’ll just let you take care of me, instead!! 🙂 I love you, Katharine! You sure are full of surprises!! Just goes to show you that you never really get a full feel of a person just through reading some writing on a screen. 🙂
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Full of surprises. Hmm. My husband says “unpredictable”. I call it adaptable. Points of view. Yours being the kindest, of course. 🙂
So are we in a time warp here, or is the conversation over, or is it unacceptable to apologize on a blog? Clue me in, here, as I don’t do politics very well.
Nor sarcasm. 😐
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Oh, please. I have to apologize for some dumb butt thing I’ve said or done on blogs numerous times. I never really mean anything bad, but perceptions can be unpredictable…My advice would be, when in doubt, apologize, even on blogs. We don’t get to see each other’s body language and tones/inflections, so it is easy to hurt someone’s feelings. And a nice apology always makes your intentions known. My own two cents, if you will… 🙂
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Wait a minute.
We went from Christian giving to homelessness, above, somehow. I just now caught it. My brain is on political overload, I fear.
I want to make a couple things clear.
No. Three things.
1. You, Bird, are not a dumb butt. Forgot to say that, above. I love sarcasm, but try hard to avoid it and fail when . . . um . . . well, I usually fail whenever someone puts me on a pedestal. Keeps me humble.
2. We changed boats in the middle of the stream. What I would do for a homeless person is far different from what I would do for almost any other beggar.
I would invite a homeless person into my home. Have done so more than once. It would make a great post, if I were inclined to boast. I would not throw money at a homeless person. What good would that do?
3. Christians give. People who claim to be Christians and do not give are confused either about what they are or about what to call themselves.
4. (I know.) If you want the money my Jesus provides for me, you will get to hear about my Jesus. It’s a promise. (Not a promise to you, but to Him. It’s not about you. But it’s not about me, either.) You don’t have to like it, though. That’s expected.
Okay, now my head hurts and I am going to bed. Thanks for allowing me to make these things more clear.
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See what I mean…communication is limited in writing. After reading the comments, my head hurts, too. Just a bunch of misinterpretations. I’m terrible about that sometimes, and lately, I try to make myself re-read things a couple of times to make sure I’m getting the message correctly. Especially since I’m on Vicodin right now…Sara thought I was drunk!! Now that I re-read my comments, she was right…I was “vicodin-typing” … lol!!
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I’ve always been told that when I point at someone, I have three fingers pointing back at me. Applies, tonight.
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Oh well, it happens, right? Tomorrow is a new day and we get a fresh start. I used to run around after ambien nights and try to mitigate my goofiness. Now, it is just easier to announce that last night’s stupidity was insomnia/sleep meds induced, and leave it at that. 🙂
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No meds, here. Just naturally great. 😛
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Before me and God cane to our truce, I was struggling hard in making headway financially and successfully in careers. A major problem is if someone needed $500 to get back on their feet, I’d lend it to them expecting it back whenever they promised or could pay it back. Even when it was my last 500.
Not long after my agreement with religion(s) I decided to track down the first who stilled owed me quite a bit of money. Now I didn’t hurt him physically or break any items but I did break his heart and spirit with remorse. I called it even with him and after 7 years we are back as great mates. But a week after the incident, I had a few people pay back a lot of money that I once.lent them. But as I receives the money in.one hand I was lending it out with the other.
Looking back, they were really never in need of the money, well most of them weren’t. But as one particular friend latest me back I payed for courses to get ahead in life in hospitality, and i hired friends (most just as quickly fired) when they said they needed money. I am one of those blokes that can put a brick wall between personal and business.
I ended up realizing that people wanted an easy way to get somewhere, something, someone without trying.for themselves first to earn it. I’ve paid mates to mow my lawn, help fence properties, help pick 4 acres of watermelons, and so on and now i find those that were willing to work and earn the cash are a little more successful than those that didn’t even look at the mower when I offered them payment instead of loan. One in particular is my.mate above, he now has gone onto training youth in different fields of work.to help them get a job. I’ve helped at a few classes here and There giving some insight on what labour jobs there are and what ACTUALLY is involved in the job.
I gave away a bed last week because i no longer needed it and someone was looking to buy it. When drove to his.place to drop off the racecar toddler bed and told him to keep his money, his eyes welled up. After a few coffees and a hell if a lot of listening on my part,.the bloke truly had has a hard life and he is barely scraping thru raising his kids as a single father. I gave what little advice I could in parts here and there, though as i was leaving he wanted to know if I would go to.church with him to meet his… Err preacher I think he said… I declined saying me and religion got a deal, and i only.enter a church for three occasions. A brief conversation of me losing my.faith in religion (but not in God) he.looked confuses hut accepted what I had to say. I shook his hand goodbye just as his kid wailed out.loud… You know one of those really.high pitched screams that make you think the kid got stung by a bee or the kid chopped off an arm, damn I hate those screams… Anyways the kid ran to ‘dadda’ and showed him his toy that broke. The kid was upset, the father was upset that the kid was upset and told the.kid he would buy one when they had the money.
I walked to the car and he yelled out a thanks and goodbye before grabbed my toolbag.from the backseat and told him to make another coffee. When.he returned I showed him how replace the screws in the transformer. 6 toys later I gave him a star and flat screwdriver, a hammer and a shifter that I had in my boot in case of breakdowns, explaining that they were going to be needed replacing soon.
I borrowed his toilet and after returning it I left with thanks and.goodbyes again. I got halfway home (50km) when i noticed an envelope on the seat with the cash for the bed + some. And a note that read “no good deed goes without reward.”
I was pissed off, I turned the car around and got to.his house.and wrote under.his note. “The reward was in the smiles. Ps I took $20 for fuel because you made me turn around.”
Two days later i wouldn’t budge the price of a washing.machine for a young.couple. The.bloke didn’t help me lift.then washing.machine into his ute, just stared as i lifted the thing up on his raised trayback. Than had the hide to bargain the price of it, I stood between him and his car door until the young couple drove away very unhappy as.I counted their cash.
I ain’t no samaritan and i ain’t an asshole (most of the time). Bit I’ve learnt that some of the smallest actions of kindness and help can accomplish big things, and if you want something, earn it.
My rant for the day….
Pink, your a gentleman lost in the ages your thoughts were grand mate.
Bird, love.your posts as always.
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FFsake… I hate my phone sometimes….
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I’ve been in similar situations as these, John. Because of the motorcycle accident, I came into a few large chunks of money. It was weird how many people suddenly needed money. In the end, we did a lot of it away to people that were going through a lot of stuff. As for lending money, I don’t. I give it away. so I won’t be expecting it back, and that keeps people from becoming a slave to it. In return, God had now dropped large chunks of cash n me at different times, seemingly out of no where. I’m about ready for another “God Drop” these days. 🙂 Thanks for the comment John!!!
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I’m with you 100%. My grandmother always says, if somebody asks to borrow an amount of money, instead of lending it and maybe getting yourself in a mess, just give them what you can afford to give- and that’s the end of that. They always appreciate it and there’s no risk of trouble or hurt feelings in the future.
And although I don’t come at this from a religious perspective I do believe in Newton’s laws: Every force (‘action’) on one object is accompanied by a ‘reaction’ on another, of equal magnitude but opposite direction.
When you approach the world and people with good-will, you also create an environment of good-will for yourself. Sure life doesn’t go as smoothly and simply as that, but in general terms, it works for me. Some people have been extraordinarily kind to me along the way and that’s been a boost to my life, so I try to do the same in whatever proportion I can.
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That’s what I believe too, of course with the religious aspect thrown in. But I’ve seen people that aren’t Christians that are always giving to people less fortunate than themselves, and they always seem to have people willing and able to help them out in a crunch too. The principle really works!
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This is awesome. 😀 I will be making such a purchase soon. Time to quite, again and, for good.
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I plan to seriously quit tomorrow. Kind of excited actually!!
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