What would Jesus do?

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AndreaisCatholi

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Hopefully this is the right place to ask this… it’s kind of a moral question about what would be the moral thing to do in a situation like this… feel free to move this if I posted in the wrong place.

this is a “what would Jesus do” (if he were a single girl in this day and age) question…

I just moved to where I live now. Its a relatively safe and quiet small town. There are always a lot of hichhikers around here… but in this day and age, it’s just too dangerous, especially as a woman, to pick up hitchhikers. I mean you hear some scary stories.

Well today I drove by a man standing on a busy highway holding a sign that said “Hungry will do anything for food.”

I was alone, so I kept driving. I know about the story of the good Samaritan… but in this day and age… it’s a bit scary for someone to be charitable to a random stranger standing on the side of a busy highway, as a single woman…

How should a Catholic handle a situation like this? I have an overwhelming guilt for not stopping to do anything… not sure if I did what was right in the situation by just driving on and praying that he got someone brave enough to stop and give him food or something.
 
AndreaisCatholi said:
Hopefully this is the right place to ask this… it’s kind of a moral question about what would be the moral thing to do in a situation like this… feel free to move this if I posted in the wrong place.

this is a “what would Jesus do” (if he were a single girl in this day and age) question…

I just moved to where I live now. Its a relatively safe and quiet small town. There are always a lot of hichhikers around here… but in this day and age, it’s just too dangerous, especially as a woman, to pick up hitchhikers. I mean you hear some scary stories.

Well today I drove by a man standing on a busy highway holding a sign that said “Hungry will do anything for food.”

I was alone, so I kept driving. I know about the story of the good Samaritan… but in this day and age… it’s a bit scary for someone to be charitable to a random stranger standing on the side of a busy highway, as a single woman…

How should a Catholic handle a situation like this? I have an overwhelming guilt for not stopping to do anything… not sure if I did what was right in the situation by just driving on and praying that he got someone brave enough to stop and give him food or something.
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Yes given that you are a woman…you did the right thing.

Also if it is an area where there are people to help you could give someone call to see if they can look into it…perhaps even a police etc…

…that was the right thing to do.
 
that makes me feel a little better. When I see things like that, I want to help… but at the same time… it’s just a hard situation. you want to be charitable as you are suppose to be as a Catholic… it’s just a real battle between doing the right thing, and keeping myself safe.
 
AndreaisCatholi said:
that makes me feel a little better. When I see things like that, I want to help… but at the same time… it’s just a hard situation. you want to be charitable as you are suppose to be as a Catholic… it’s just a real battle between doing the right thing, and keeping myself safe.
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My reaction is to call the police on their regular number (not 9-1-1; that’s for immanent life and death situations) and ask if they can send someone out to look into the guy’s situation.

I once saw a guy hitchhiking in pouring rain, and did that, and the police said that I did the right thing; they sent someone out to get the guy and drive him home. 🙂
 
My thought was to call the police and see if someone could come out… but I didn’t have my cellphone on me. (I took it out of my purse as I always do on Sundays when I go to Church. I’m always paranoid it’s going to go off in the middle of mass.) Maybe someone else did what you suggested. Hopefully someone got him something to eat.
 
AndreaisCatholi said:
My thought was to call the police and see if someone could come out… but I didn’t have my cellphone on me. (I took it out of my purse as I always do on Sundays when I go to Church. I’m always paranoid it’s going to go off in the middle of mass.) Maybe someone else did what you suggested. Hopefully someone got him something to eat.
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Seriously…you as a woman…should not stop to help in such a situation…but do as was suggested…give a call…even when you get home

🙂

Charity and Prudence…

Both virtues 🙂

And prudence will help guide charity in the best way…
 
thanks for the answers. I feel less guilty now. If I see him next time I’ll call the police to see if they can help him.
 
AndreaisCatholi said:
Hopefully this is the right place to ask this… it’s kind of a moral question about what would be the moral thing to do in a situation like this… feel free to move this if I posted in the wrong place.

this is a “what would Jesus do” (if he were a single girl in this day and age) question…

I just moved to where I live now. Its a relatively safe and quiet small town. There are always a lot of hichhikers around here… but in this day and age, it’s just too dangerous, especially as a woman, to pick up hitchhikers. I mean you hear some scary stories.

Well today I drove by a man standing on a busy highway holding a sign that said “Hungry will do anything for food.”

I was alone, so I kept driving. I know about the story of the good Samaritan… but in this day and age… it’s a bit scary for someone to be charitable to a random stranger standing on the side of a busy highway, as a single woman…

How should a Catholic handle a situation like this? I have an overwhelming guilt for not stopping to do anything… not sure if I did what was right in the situation by just driving on and praying that he got someone brave enough to stop and give him food or something.
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What would have stopped you from tossing a dollar or two, to him? In the safety of your car?

I guess Secular Humanists don’t have these “Moral” questions like believers do.
 
lets see… busy highway where the speed is 55mph… since I’m in the driver’s seat and can’t throw money out the passenger window… I’d have to pull over and either get out of my car or have him come up the the window… where he could have pulled a gun on me, a knife… me with no cellphone…

plus throwing a dollar or two at a human being out a car window seems very disrespectful. he is still a human. It’s not like throwing a dog a dog treat.
 
Also… my question was serious and respectful. Your answer could have been the same. Maybe you were serious but was lacking on the respectful part.
 
AndreaisCatholi said:
lets see… busy highway where the speed is 55mph… since I’m in the driver’s seat and can’t throw money out the passenger window… I’d have to pull over and either get out of my car or have him come up the the window… where he could have pulled a gun on me, a knife… me with no cellphone…

plus throwing a dollar or two at a human being out a car window seems very disrespectful. he is still a human. It’s not like throwing a dog a dog treat.
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Maybe Jose Maria Escriva would be good reading for you.

Christ is passing you by.

That man on the road, was Christ. You passed him by.
 
what’s so funny about that?

There have been numerous inncodents like the one linked above, of single women getting attacked by people posing as hitchhikers or hungry homeless people.

my brothers are cops in a different state and in one week one of my brothers had 3 reports of attempted attacks.

Christ isn’t stupid. I highly doubt he’s going to pose as a hitchhiker on the road to see if a woman would stop and risk her life to pick him up or pass him money.

masscops.com/f80/florida-hitchhiker-asks-woman-where-shed-like-die-48898/
 
AndreaisCatholi said:
what’s so funny about that?

There have been numerous inncodents like the one linked above, of single women getting attacked by people posing as hitchhikers or hungry homeless people.

my brothers are cops in a different state and in one week one of my brothers had 3 reports of attempted attacks.

Christ isn’t stupid. I highly doubt he’s going to pose as a hitchhiker on the road to see if a woman would stop and risk her life to pick him up or pass him money.

masscops.com/f80/florida-hitchhiker-asks-woman-where-shed-like-die-48898/
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Well, how can I argue with that kind of wisdom and logical thought? I give in. You must be right.
 
We are stewards our lives, we have an obligation to protect them and to ensure their continuance. Yes, we can give them up for a friend or stranger, but that does not mean placing yourself in a situation where its possible for another person to take that life.

You did the right thing. Perhaps if you see him again you could let a charity group know, they will obviously (well, hopefully) have people who are trained to deal with approaching people in these situations.

I heard of a case where an old man with a “hungry need food” kind of sign was picked up by a single woman who felt sorry for him. I don’t think I need to tell you what happened to that woman.

Or, you could learn Ninjitsu. That could solve your problems. :D… unless that guy is a ninja too.

Don’t let teh smilie fool you, I"m being serious.
 
StrawberryJam said:
What would have stopped you from tossing a dollar or two, to him? In the safety of your car?

I guess Secular Humanists don’t have these “Moral” questions like believers do.
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Uh, be careful doing that. A friend of mine had her window rolled down half way and stopped to give someone a dollar who had a sign asking for help and he grabbed her necklace. She took off and wound up with a nice gash on her throat, in addition to losing her necklace. But at least she’s okay. I’m not saying not to give, just to use some common sense and be careful.

I’d go with calling the Police and sending them out to see to the guy…
 
Rence said:
Uh, be careful doing that. A friend of mine had her window rolled down half way and stopped to give someone a dollar who had a sign asking for help and he grabbed her necklace. She took off and wound up with a nice gash on her throat, in addition to losing her necklace. But at least she’s okay. I’m not saying not to give, just to use some common sense and be careful.

I’d go with calling the Police and sending them out to see to the guy…
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Because the man had a sign that he was hungry and will do anything for food?

I really don’t see hitchkiking in a sign like that.

Read this thread again. This man is being accused of hitchkiking, yet all he did was hold a sign that he was hungry and needed food.
 
StrawberryJam said:
Because the man had a sign that he was hungry and will do anything for food?

I really don’t see hitchkiking in a sign like that.

Read this thread again. This man is being accused of hitchkiking, yet all he did was hold a sign that he was hungry and needed food.
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All he did was CLAIM that he was hungry and would do anything for food. Like Rence said, it could be a ploy for anything. Bear in mind I’m NOT accusing this guy of anything, I’m just saying you hae to be careful when going up to strangers alone if you’re a woman. I would just call the police for help, that way it’s not like you’re leaving this guy out to dry and you’re removing the risk factor.
 
StrawberryJam said:
Because the man had a sign that he was hungry and will do anything for food?

I really don’t see hitchkiking in a sign like that.

Read this thread again. This man is being accused of hitchkiking, yet all he did was hold a sign that he was hungry and needed food.
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I think that evil people will use any way they can to get unsuspecting people to feel badly enough for them to give the evil person a way to harm them. No, I don’t think a hungry person holding a sign that he was hungry and will do anything for food is evil. I rather think evil people wear many hats. And I said nothing about a hitchhiker. I’m responding to the suggestion to give money from the “safety” of one’s car. Unless you plan on throwing the money at them at a safe distance (which is rude), I wouldn’t put myself in a compromising situation, especially if I were alone.

You could easily call the Police to see to the guy, and check back with them later so that you could give him money that you think he needs. But I wouldn’t give him an opportunity to overtake me. Actually I don’t give people an opportunity to overtake me, not on purpose anyway.
 
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