The raggedy man was in his mid-50s, standing by a broken down old pickup parked near the freeway off-ramp, holding a handmade cardboard sign. Near the edge of the highway sat a five gallon red plastic gas can. Beside him was a black-and-white dog on a rope. The scrawl on the sign read "out of gas. Need help."

I had turned on to the off ramp to stop at a nearby restaurant. When I left to get back on the freeway the man was still there. On an impulse, I slowed to where he was standing and handed $20 out the window. The man thanked me profusely. I went to my next stop, about 15 miles down the road, to a spot where I usually stop to rest during the 300 mile drive to Las Vegas, I pulled over, put my seat back, and shut my eyes.

After about 20 or 30 min. I opened my eyes to the sound of nearby voices. Looking to my left, 2 to 3 parking spaces away, was the man in the red truck. He was standing outside the truck, talking to a woman who was seated in the passenger side of the vehicle. Within a minute a low rider car pulled up and the man went over to the driver and handed him something. The driver handed him something in return. I suddenly realized the man had probably purchased drugs from the man who had just arrived.

For a moment I started to get angry, feeling stupid that my compassion let me be suckered into giving this man money. I periodically encounter people in parking lots who say that they're broke and need money for gas. I sometimes give them a few dollars because, even though I know they might be using the money for drugs or alcohol, I figure if their life is so bad they have panhandle in a parking lot asking for money, then I can help.

Once I was realized what was going on with the man in the red truck I was able to laugh at myself. I applied a saying that I’d heard one time from a motivational speaker who’d given money to a homeless man. His children, who were riding with him, began berating him. They made were making comments like "you know he's going to use that money for alcohol?" "Maybe he should just get a job, instead of begging beside the road."

However, the motivational speaker responded by saying, "when I give someone money, it's between me and God. What he does with the money is between him and God."

Once I recalled that principle I was able to view the incident in the proper perspective. Besides, maybe the drugs the man was purchasing will help him get that much closer to the path of recovery.