When You’ve Been Scammed

One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”

Luke 17:15-18

Snookered. That’s how I felt exactly three seconds after I handed five dollars to a young woman standing at the transit station who told me she was raising money for Feed My Starving Children.

To be fair, I was utterly distracted. My kids and I were in downtown Minneapolis, and I was trying to read a map, buy train tickets, and herd the kids to the correct side of the platform when she approached with a flyer and her request. My suspicions were confirmed when this young woman and her cronies crowded into the same train car. I overheard enough conversation to realize that they were on their way to the Mall of America and were hopping out at various stops to scam people into giving them cash.

Clearly, there was something about me that marked me as a target, and that burned more than losing my money. Rather than confronting her angrily, I prayed over the young woman and whatever had encouraged her to scam five dollars for a trip to the mall. I prayed that her current trajectory would be intersected by God in a mighty way.

After I prayed, I let it go. After all, how many of the ten lepers thanked Jesus when he healed them? Exactly one—and he was a despised Samaritan. And didn’t Jesus know that would happen before he healed them? Jesus reached out anyway, fully knowing the result ahead of time. While being scammed was an excellent reminder to be smarter about the clues and the context in which I help someone out, it will not stop me from responding to someone’s need in the future.

—Julie

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Consider a time when you felt duped by helping someone else. Let it go, and then pray for the person who has scammed you.

From the book