A Weakness

"A simple man believes anything,
but a prudent man gives thought to his steps."
-- Proverbs 14:15 (NIV)

This past Tuesday, in the parking lot of a hardware store, a man approached me, asking for help. He said his car wouldn't start. I told him I had jumper cables and that we could try to jump start his car. Upon looking at them, he said they were the wrong kind for his battery and that he really should get a new battery. He offered to give me $10 if I'd take him to the auto parts store just down the road so he could purchase one.

As we got in the car, I asked him if he went to church, and he replied with an enthusiastic "YES!" We started talking about some spiritual things, and he recommended that we pray together. I obliged, of course. I even gave him one of the business cards I'd made for my job search, which has my name, phone number, and address on it. Just to keep in touch, you know. I thought I was making a new friend.

He asked me to stop at a different auto parts store than what he originally said. It was closer, so I did. He went inside and returned about 30 seconds later. He told me that he was three dollars short for the new battery and could I help him out. He said he had the money at his home and could repay me after he got the new battery. He also said that he needed $10 for the "core charge" (core charge is what you pay when you don't have the original part with you when you buy a new one). All I had was a $20 bill, so I handed it to him.

He went inside and returned about a minute later. He said that they were going to bring the battery to his car, since it was just down the street. He then asked me to take him home so he could get me $35 to repay me. By this time I got a little suspicious because it seemed that he was taking me really out of my way. He took me to the Santa Clara neighborhood of Dayton, which has a reputation for being a rough area.

He directed me to park in front of an apartment building and wait while he went inside to get me the money.

Fifteen minutes later, I realized that I was being scammed. I left the area upset, angry, hurt, vengeful, yet prayerful. I went home and shared the experience with mom and Jennie, and then I went for a walk to blow off some steam. I was feeling seriously depressed about how stupid I was.

On the way to church, I was still feeling a little vengeful. I fantasized about taking a crowbar to the guy's kneecaps. Then I remembered the scripture that says that it's up to God to avenge.

At the men's meeting at church, I talked with a couple brothers in Christ about the situation. I can be way too trusting. The same kind of scam happened to me once before, about a year and a half ago. I'm just grateful that I wasn't carjacked or hurt in some other way.

So I'm learning from the "school of hard knocks" not to be too trusting of strangers. My intentions were godly in trying to help that man, but I could have been more shrewd and gone about it a different way. I saw the proverb that I listed at the beginning of this post, and I think it's a good one for me to store up and apply to my heart.

Thank you, Lord.