Living in Bangladesh for most people is very stressful as you can imagine. Things like pollution, power outages, the heat, traffic jams, the noise, and the poor infrastructure can drive people from places like the USA and UK to go crazy sometimes. One of the things that I'm particularly aware of is how this affects us all differently. Several of my coworkers despise the traffic jams of Dhaka and will do everything they can to avoid them. I on the other hand generally am not too bothered by them. Three years of working in a non-AC office on the other hand has meant that something I really struggled with at first doesn't bother me nearly as much now. Each person's needs are different and people's needs change. In light of this, I have done some thinking in the last few weeks and have come to acknowledge that the most challenging thing for me at this point in my life in Bangladesh is dealing with the beggars here.
You see, I believe very much that as a Christian, we are to treat these people as we would Jesus himself. If you don't believe me, read Matthew 25:31-46. The struggle then becomes, what do you do if the person whom you are to see Jesus in, is trying to take advantage of you or is being taken advantage of? If you don't have an idea of what I'm talking about, go watch the movie Slumdog Millionaire. I assure you, the terrible people that maim others and force them into a life of begging really do exist. Others are hurt in accidents due to poor safety standards and are forced to beg out of necessity. Others, are just regular people who come to the big city to try making a living selling cheap things in the middle of traffic or just asking for money plain and simple because they think they are helping Muslims be more holy by relieving them of their required alms for the poor. Being white makes it double the trouble because as a foreigner you attract lots of attention from these people who think you will give them large amounts if they don't leave you alone.
The tough parts are trying to figure out who is legitimately in need of funds which is pretty much impossible to tell and being kindhearted towards those who aren't legitimately in need. I so desperately want to be a kindhearted and generous person, but it is really hard to figure out how to appropriately be that person here. Why does it seem that "Jesus" wants to take advantage of me? That's a question I struggle with every day.
You see, I believe very much that as a Christian, we are to treat these people as we would Jesus himself. If you don't believe me, read Matthew 25:31-46. The struggle then becomes, what do you do if the person whom you are to see Jesus in, is trying to take advantage of you or is being taken advantage of? If you don't have an idea of what I'm talking about, go watch the movie Slumdog Millionaire. I assure you, the terrible people that maim others and force them into a life of begging really do exist. Others are hurt in accidents due to poor safety standards and are forced to beg out of necessity. Others, are just regular people who come to the big city to try making a living selling cheap things in the middle of traffic or just asking for money plain and simple because they think they are helping Muslims be more holy by relieving them of their required alms for the poor. Being white makes it double the trouble because as a foreigner you attract lots of attention from these people who think you will give them large amounts if they don't leave you alone.
The tough parts are trying to figure out who is legitimately in need of funds which is pretty much impossible to tell and being kindhearted towards those who aren't legitimately in need. I so desperately want to be a kindhearted and generous person, but it is really hard to figure out how to appropriately be that person here. Why does it seem that "Jesus" wants to take advantage of me? That's a question I struggle with every day.
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