Panhandling cowboy?

As the morning sun settled to the west my fuel tank told me it was time to roll off the interstate into the Truck stop in Santa Rosa New Mexico.  As I pulled through the entrance I notice a man sitting with a cardboard sign that read, “need gas”.  What caught my eye was how he was dressed.  Atop his head was a sweat stained cowboy hat, his wrangles jeans had seen some work, and his boots had walked a mile or two.  As I filled my truck I looked at this man and something inside me was moved with compassion.  As I pulled away I did something I have never done, I stopped and rolled down my window. 

The middle-aged man rose from his seat and approached my open window.  I told him I would turn around and if he would pull his car up to a pump I would be happy to fill it up for him.  He proceeded to explain to me his trucks engine had actually broke down on his way to a ranching job in Gallup and he was now trying to come up with the money to fix it and no one had responded to his cardboard asking for help with the broke engine so he switched to needing gas.  He then told me he was good with horses and cattle and had worked as a ranch hand most his adult life.  If I would hire him he would be happy to clean stalls or anything else if I could pay him for his labor.  When I told him I was from Utah and heading to Oklahoma he quietly thanked me for stopping and said he did not want to take any money he couldn’t earn. 

As the wheels of my pickup once again found the rhythm on the highway that good warm fuzzy feeling came over me.  I had felt moved upon to help someone in need and responded to that call.  I felt a bit closer to heaven for my actions.  Just as the warm fuzzy feeling was to take me to new heights of spiritual awareness my rational brain kicked in.  Stop patting yourself on the back the only reason he did not rip you off for a free five bucks of beer is cause you asked the right questions and did not expose yourself to the foolishness of giving to a panhandler.  He offered to work because he had seen your license plate knowing you would not take him up on the offer.  No the compassionate side argued back you followed your heart and was lead to someone in need and you responded to his desperation in these hard times.

The great part about 20 hour drives is that these sorts of arguments with ones self can go on for hours.  This great battle lasted for a while till I struck up a great debate with the version of Harry Reid that lives in my mind.  Long drives by yourself can do that to a person.  In the end I decided that my heart was right I did the right thing, he was a good man in need, and I needed to do more giving when the opportunity arose. The warm fuzzy feeling returned and bliss was the rest of my trip.

On the way home ten days latter I rolled into the same gas station and with the same hat and same sign was the same cowboy.  Apparently it’s hard to find a cheap mechanic in Santa Rosa or steady ranch work.  This time when I looked at him he was the one looking away pretending I did not exist.  My feel good side sure hates it when Mr. Rational gets on his high horse to parade his infinite power in logical reason. This time though my feel good side pulled out his boxing gloves and the two sides worked something out in my head. 

When we are moved upon to help and ask the right questions and offer the help in a reasonable manner something good can happen.  We can drive away knowing we did what the Lord asks of us and not having to worry if we gave to a scam artist.  When we have compassion in our heart we can give so long as our reasoning directs the manner in which we give.  When this happens we get the best of both worlds, the warm fuzzy that comes with acts of charity and the comfort that we are not being taken advantage of.  Guess it just takes a beggar in a cowboy hat sometimes to help us start.