Hungry Man at the Light… What Would YOU Do?

Yesterday morning, I was on my way to the office when I found myself stuck in a massive traffic jam. Miles of cars stretched ahead, all lanes backed up. Even though I had left extra early, I was early no more.

Finally, I reached my exit. At the bottom of the ramp was a notorious traffic light. The sign read “No Turn on Red,” and anyone familiar with it knows the pain—it stays red forever and then turns green for just a few seconds. Most of the time, only a handful of cars make it through before the light hastily switches back to red, so rudely taunting the frustrated string of drivers wishing they were actually driving.

Finally I got close enough to the signal light that I was almost 90% certain I’d make it through the next green. And that’s when I saw him.

The Man on the Median

Sitting on the concrete median was a man, head down, looking utterly exhausted. It had been a rainy night. His soggy cardboard sign read: “Hungry Please Help.”

Thoughts rush through my mind…. I’ve been stuck in terrible traffic. I’m running late already. This dreadful light is about to turn green and if I don’t hurry quickly through I’ll have to sit through yet another long red light!

The flood of thoughts raced through my mind...

• I don’t have food to give him.

• I don’t have cash oh me—I already gave it away.

• Even if I did, a few dollars wouldn’t solve his problems. He needs a home.

• What if he’s a drug user?

• What if he has mental health problems?

It was the flood of reasons that overwhelm, incapacitate and say “keep the window up and drive on.”

The Truth About Excuses

Stop! Wait a second! Maybe he is a drug user. The truth is almost all of us sit for hours, pay our money and give our full attention to movie stars with a history of drug use. Most of us listen to celebrities and super star singers with a history of drug use. We have doctors, lawyers, professors, politicians, sports icons, influencers, pastors and preachers with histories of drug use. We’ve even had presidents of our nation with a history of drug use.

And mental health struggles. We all struggle with thoughts that don’t serve our good and battles of the heart and mind. It’s only a matter of degree and where on the spectrum we each fall at any given moment in time.

So there I was at the light! There was a man who was hungry. I might not be able to solve all his problems, but what could I do right now?

Choosing to Act

I stopped overthinking and, in the instant that I did, I remembered I had some quarters and change in my console—maybe six or seven dollars’ worth. As the light turned green, I grabbed the coins, rolled down my window, and stretched out my hand.

“I’m sorry, this is all I have right now,” I told him.

His face lit up with gratitude as he looked up and replied “Thank you!”

And as I pulled away, something amazing happened. That short green light—normally just a blink—stayed green until I was safely through. In that moment, I felt divine intervention.

The Lesson: Bless Others

I couldn’t solve all of that man’s problems, but I could do something. And that’s the point.

We don’t need to fix everything. We don’t need to have all the answers. We just need to do what we can, right where we are, with what we have.

Stop Making Excuses. Start Blessing Others.

✨ Bless others. Big or small, just do what you can. And be greatly blessed as you bless others.

Do what you can to bless others!