In life you have to be generous, not only with food, but also with gestures and words. We cannot be mean with what we have and what we give. Giving only what we have left over or do not need, is not giving or giving away, it is throwing away, discard. In these days when I was talking about resentment, I remembered how in this era, many people can be miserable and mean.

Last week, while riding a bus, a man got on and started asking for money. Among the things he said was that he had small children, that he was sick, and that before he went out to steal, he preferred to request. While the man was giving his speech, many people turned their faces with no intention of listening and even less of collaborating. In the end the man said that he would come by the seats to pick up the money. To be honest, no one gave money to the man, who got off the bus, blessing and thanking.

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I do not judge that people can feel apprehension of giving money in the street, nor that they are incredulous and even indifferent to the tragedy of others, many we have our own daily misfortunes. Likewise, I understand that in a country like Venezuela, where there is a shortage of cash, people may find it difficult to get rid of what they have or simply do not have to give. But what catches my attention is that the people who were on the bus did not respond to the greeting or blessing given by the man. As I write, I remember an old story that I share with you:

There was a man inside the house reading Psalm 70 when it began to rain. The Bible that was in his hands, put it in his lap for a while to see and hear how the storm fell. God in His infinite mercy brought rain for the fields that were thirsty and barren, hungry for rain, thought man. Even though there were sins and sinners, God still loved us. God is good, people are bad, he thought. He immediately interrupted his meditations. The rain and the external could not disturb his moment of encounter with God. He began again to read the psalm:

And let those who love your salvation always say: May God be great. I am afflicted and needy. Hurry to me, O God," read the man visibly affected.

Outside, the rain increased more and more, and the man read slowly as he drank a cup of hot coffee. The rain continued to scourge the roof of the house, when the man heard a knock on the door. He stopped reading, but at first he did not change his mind. He returned to the pages of the Bible, feeling anger at the interruption.

My mouth is full of your praise and your glory all day long. Do not reject me in the time of old age; do not forsake me when I lack strength.

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It hadn't been a minute, when they knocked on the door again insistently. The man lazily got up and went to the door. When he opened it, he found a man in rags, dirty and wet.

_ Let me pass, sir, I'm dying of cold," said the dirty homeless man, shaking and grinding his teeth.

The man looked at him from the door from top to bottom and thought: another stray sheep from the lord. But he said to him:

_ Forgive me, but I am at the hour of the reading of my prayer and your presence alone would hinder my service to God.

_ I will not disturb you. I will listen to your words in silence. I only ask you to let me take shelter in your house. The cold is freezing my old bones.

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The situation was exasperating. The man burped the fish soup he had recently eaten and an acid smell invaded the air. Oh, my God, I am a helpless victim of this waste escaped from the abyss standing in front of me, the man ruminated to himself. When he spoke, his voice had a hysterical tone and his eyes reflected the holy and selfish indifference:

_I would like to help you, but I don't know what your intentions might be, and to be honest, I only open the doors of my house to my friends and to people who look better than you do. Shame on you for coming before the house of a Christian like me, in such a garment," said the man again.

_Then give me something to eat, for the love of God, for I am hungry. I can't stand the cold because only a piece of leather is like skin covering my bones. Give me something hot, even if it's not enough," insisted the homeless man.

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The magnanimous character of the man defied with the look that piece of skin and bones that shivered of cold. Unmoved by the plea, the man exclaimed:

_ Lazy sovereign, dirty vermin, your virulent history, plagued with lamentations only manage to make you smaller before my eyes and the eyes of my God. You all lie in order to receive food without working. Get out of here.

The man closed the door and with a good Christian face, sat down in his hot seat and continued with the reading.

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Sometimes we think we are good, noble, and we beat our breasts every Sunday when we go to church, but when it comes to being generous to strangers, we are mean and ignoble. The indifference to the tragedy of the man who got on the bus speaks of the kind of person we have become, because it is one thing not to have money to give, but quite another not to respond to man's greeting and blessing. We must continue to do good, even if it is not fashionable, and we must continue to believe, for the good of the world.

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