Hitchhiker

[TimothyH]

I think some are trying to hard to figure it out in their own minds, trying to muscle the issue with reason and intellect instead of letting the spirit work. Consider nespero’s own words.

But after passing him by I began to wonder if I should turn around and pick him up. That’s when all kinds of bad thoughts came into my head.

We all pass people walking on the road, in the bookstore, in the parking lot. 99.999% of these people don’t draw our attention. But yet, once in a while, one person draws our attention in a special way. For me, it is usually a very primal urge, a seemingly inexplicable pull to do something very specific and it usually comes while I am doing my ordinary daily activity, being faithful to my duties as a father, as an employee or just going about my daily routine in a faithful manner.

I’m not saying to be imprudent or to take risks. I’m not saying that we should pick up every hitchhiker. And I’m not saying that nespero’s “Nudge” to pick up this particular person was the Holy Spirit speaking to him directly. But I am saying that sometimes we dismiss those urges as being silly, part of our imagination, and we reason and justify them away. Consider that it just might have been the Holy Spirit talking to nespero. I mean, could it have been? And maybe Satan said, “No, he might have a gun in that bag. And he’s probably a deranged psycho rapist axe-murdering drug-addicted communist nazi satanist with leprosy and lice!”

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. (Hebrews 13:1-2)

But I try to remember Paul’s words. Yea, we have to use prudence and every situation is different. But those urges come from somewhere. What if the guy was an angel? It is often difficult to discern what is from God and what is not. The spirit of peace is my guide. If I am at peace about my decision, I go with it. And it is very sad when I realize that God has given me an apportunity to show my love for him through another human being and I blew it or just didn’t recognize it.

All I’m saying is that I think we often ignore or simply don’t recognize the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit when he speaks to us, that’s all.

-Tim-

 

[Spirithound]

Thank you, that’s an important distinction. So what about

• a teenage girl walking by herself on a lonely highway asking for help with her clothes torn
• a young well-dressed man laying on the side of a road with his clothes torn
• a biker-looking guy with tattoos laying on the side of the road bleeding and with his clothes torn

Good questions again. I guess when I gave a distinction between someone hurt and someone merely wanting a ride, I was more picturing an urban setting, me already walking on the sidewalk (since I don’t drive…yet…). Still, I would echo another poster who would call the paramedics. Unfortunately, my First Aid certification has lapsed, I’m not sure how confident I would be in my abilities. Anyways, “No” to all 3 questions, and I’m revising my earlier answers to all “No”. Call 911 instead.

 

[michelleds]

I agree that picking up hitchhikers is dangerous.

However, and OP wasn’t clear, there’s a difference between hitchhikers–someone actively trying to “thumb” a ride–and someone walking along where you wouldn’t expect them to be.

In spite of my profession, which causes me to be suspicious and overly cautious, I have stopped and given ppl rides. I’ve driven by more than I’ve stopped for, but there’s probably been a good dozen over the years that I’ve given rides to. there’s probably another 6-10 that i’ve stopped, offered a ride, but the person didn’t want one.

every one of the ones that I can think of off the top of my head were in out of the way places–country roads usually. one case of a woman with a small girl walking on the shoulder of a highway between towns. turns out her car had broken down and she was trying to walk 3-4 miles with a 4 year old. took her home, no problems.

I don’t know why I stop when I do. There’s no time to reason or think yes or no, i just do it. maybe it’s old Reverend Locke still in my head–he always always stopped for hitchhikers because he said you just never knew when it was going to be an angel. (Heb 13:2).

But if anyone asked me, I’d still tell them to never stop for someone.

**

 

[valentino]

Picking up hitch hikers is illegal in every state I can think of. Per the Catechism, we are bound as Catholics to obey the laws of our society.

It is also dangerous and reckless behavior. You have no idea who that person walking on the side of the road may be. Evil people do not wear a sign or look like monsters. They look just like everyone else.

If you truly feel called by the Spirit to help such a person, call the police and inform them of the person. The person will then get the care they need, if relevant, and you will have complied with societal laws as you are obligated to do as a Catholic. And, you will not have endangered yourself thereby forgetting your duty to your family and loved ones.

I didn’t know it was illegal.Why don’t police arrest hitcherhickers or ticket them?I thougt you could hitchhick but you had to be off the road.

 

[jwinch2]

I didn’t know it was illegal.Why don’t police arrest hitcherhickers or ticket them?I thougt you could hitchhick but you had to be off the road.

Because police have too many things to do to deal with them. So typically, unless someone reports it, they leave it alone. Plus, they simply cannot be everywhere at once and often are not aware of it.

In many states its legal to do it, but illegal to pick them up.

 

[nespero]

I didn’t know it was illegal.Why don’t police arrest hitcherhickers or ticket them?I thougt you could hitchhick but you had to be off the road.

I didn’t know that either. I just checked my state laws and it’s illegal to hitch a ride on the roadway but not on the shoulder of the road. This guy was on the sidewalk, so I think that’s legal.

To michelleds, the guy I passed was actively thumbing a ride from the sidewalk of a heavily traveled street. Rethinking the situation, if I had stopped at the place where he was standing I would have created a hazard to the traffic coming behind me, and that would probably have been an illegal stop for me. He should have been standing by a stop light. That doesn’t excuse the reason I passed him by, but maybe it lessens my culpability and there may have been an inner voice telling me I should not stop there.

 

[TimothyH]

Can we really claim in good concience that we ought not pick up hitchhikers because it is against the law? Can anyone here say that they always come to a complete stop at every stop sign? Do any here never go above the speed limit?

Again he entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched him closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. (Mark 3:1-4)

If we can’t even obey a simple stops sign or speed limit sign because we are hurried in our own selfishness, who here, with Jesus as his example, would not be willing to break a hitchhiker law to help a human being in need?

-Tim-

 

[JaneGrey]

I agree that picking up hitchhikers is dangerous.

However, and OP wasn’t clear, there’s a difference between hitchhikers–someone actively trying to “thumb” a ride–and someone walking along where you wouldn’t expect them to be.

In spite of my profession, which causes me to be suspicious and overly cautious, I have stopped and given ppl rides. I’ve driven by more than I’ve stopped for, but there’s probably been a good dozen over the years that I’ve given rides to. there’s probably another 6-10 that i’ve stopped, offered a ride, but the person didn’t want one.

every one of the ones that I can think of off the top of my head were in out of the way places–country roads usually. one case of a woman with a small girl walking on the shoulder of a highway between towns. turns out her car had broken down and she was trying to walk 3-4 miles with a 4 year old. took her home, no problems.

I don’t know why I stop when I do. There’s no time to reason or think yes or no, i just do it. maybe it’s old Reverend Locke still in my head–he always always stopped for hitchhikers because he said you just never knew when it was going to be an angel. (Heb 13:2).

But if anyone asked me, I’d still tell them to never stop for someone.

One time, I stopped 2 lanes of traffic to escort a mama duck and her 6-8 little yellow babies out of traffic and into the grass.]

That sounds adorable. God bless you for your general kindness and bravery.

 

[maryjk]

If we can’t even obey a simple stops sign or speed limit sign because we are hurried in our own selfishness, who here, with Jesus as his example, would not be willing to break a hitchhiker law to help a human being in need?

-Tim-

As many here have said, it is simply not safe to pick up someone you don’t know. Nor is it safe to get into the car of someone you don’t know. It has nothing to do with being selfish but with being safe.

 

[nespero]

If we can’t even obey a simple stops sign or speed limit sign because we are hurried in our own selfishness, who here, with Jesus as his example, would not be willing to break a hitchhiker law to help a human being in need?

-Tim-

Tim, that’s a beautiful passage but I’m not sure it’s a good analogy to the hitchiker case. In the example used by Jesus, there was (1) no doubt that he could heal the man, (2) no risk to Jesus or other bystanders (ignoring that there would never be risk to Jesus that He didn’t allow), and (3) the only thing standing between the act of healing was a misinterpreted law.

In comparison, (1) we don’t know if we could help the hitchiker, maybe we’re going in the wrong direction, maybe he/she is mentally ill, etc, (2) we’ve already spoken of the risk, and (3) there is a clear law in many municipalities against hitchiking, so it’s not a question of misinterpretation.

Having said that, I do agree that the law, in itself, should not be an absolute hindrance. For example, if a person is in clear need of medical aid, and one has the training to offer it and help, the morality of helping a bystander overrides even the clearly written law, which was not written in the context of a medical emergency. That’s an extreme example, I’m sure there are others that are not so extreme, maybe a teenage girl with evidence of having been attacked, a person with a broken down car, etc.

 

[Spirithound]

Can we really claim in good concience that we ought not pick up hitchhikers because it is against the law?

A person can be right for the wrong reasons.

 

[valentino]

Jwinch2:thanks for rresponding.

 

[bhall0689]

In my opinion, all of this fear surrounding hitchhikers/could-be axe murders is mumbo-jumbo perpetuated by the large number of hitchhiker slasher films that started coming out in the early 80s. I’ve hitchhiked in my day, and I’m a nice female.

 

[adrift]

I pick up hitch hickers all the time.

The last had been in the sun so long hoping to be picked up that he was sunburned. I picked up a man that was trying to repair his vehicle and was carrying a heavy part. Didn’t have to take him far just a mile. I have picked up more than 50 people. Only two were scary. Most were just down on their luck trying to get to a place where things might be better.

OP you did not sin by not picking them up. It would have been a charitable thing to do but not required.

It is not against the law where I live.

 

[adrift]

In my opinion, all of this fear surrounding hitchhikers/could-be axe murders is mumbo-jumbo perpetuated by the large number of hitchhiker slasher films that started coming out in the early 80s. I’ve hitchhiked in my day, and I’m a nice female.

 

[FurtherSuntime]

The other day I was driving to a doctor’s office with my wife when we passed a hitchhiker. It was a good part of town, the hitchhiker looked decent, middle aged, and was carrying a sack of some type. We don’t see a lot of hitchhikers in our area, and this was a pretty well traveled road.

I passed him by, primarily because by the time I saw him it would have been hazardous to stop in the traffic lane to pick him up. But after passing him by I began to wonder if I should turn around and pick him up. That’s when all kinds of bad thoughts came into my head. What if he’s an axe murderer, what if he wants to steal my car, what if he has a gun in that bag? I rationalized it by thinking that I have my wife with me, and I can’t subject her to danger. But I also thought, what would Jesus have done, and have I neglected my Christian duty to my fellow man? What if that hitchhiker had been me, and I just needed a ride to go pick up a broken car, etc. Then I felt very guilty, and thought I should confess this as a sin against charity. Thoughts?

Never, Never, NEVER…pick up a hitch hiker over the age of 12

1. Either a person has 30 or 40 bucks on hand or does not,

a) if a person has 30 or 40 bucks on hand and feels inspired to help
fellow man, give it to the hitch hiker for a cab or bus.

b) if a person does not have 30 or 40 bucks on hand then they never intended to be
inspired to help fellow man or, are not in a position to deal with the expense’s
or trouble which could likely come about picking up a hitch hiker

 The person could be on drugs, drunk, a pervert, a thief, a scam ect. Intoxicated people
   can and will disrupt safety in the car(experience)

1. Offering opportunities for occasions of ill- intended acts in the name of Mr Nice Guy is
   naive and un-informed. Opportunities for charity are everywhere.
   
   As far as God and guilt is concerned, the finest a person can do is use their noggin. Part of which involves being attentive to social circumstance and potential danger to self ect…

With communication, transportation an emergency situation is easily remedied. Availing oneself to danger for the sake of 30 bucks or a quick call in aid is irresponsible period.

This may be a very seldom experience, although in light of commentary will add…

Unfortunately many lessons are learned the hard way. Little pretend voices from God and little idea’s which neglect reality are an insult to God . The well maintained healthy conscience does not require
false arm shots outside of common sense for reassurance .

 

[Big_Dummy]

I would not have stopped to pick him up.
I have advised my sons to never pick up hitchhikers.
I have also advised my sons to never hitchhike.

It is usually illegal.

**Call the police and let them handle it. That way, the hitchhiker is attended to and everyone is safe./**QUOTE]

Amen, last year I drove past a hiker, called the police and he turned out to be an escaped prisioneer, who was jailed for a violent crime.