Do I give what I can and be done with it? Do I have to believe somehow my gift really might help him? What if he is really disheveled or reeks of alcohol or can barely stand up? Do I just willy-nilly throw away my own hard-earned money to the same beggars every day?

For guidance, I looked at the Program. I know we are called to carry its message of hope and grace. I also know the Program expects us to keep carrying the same message to the same person regardless of whether he stops abusing alcohol. I know from personal experience after carrying the message that I wondered if they really did hear it. They may have said so. They may make all the right signs of deciding to quit. But, deep inside, often as it was with me, they would secretly reserve the right to go back out, playing the game bit by bit – no real surrender. Practicing alcoholics are strange critters!  

Are there any limits to the time one spends carrying the message of the Program? Is there a rule that says that if the inmate has more than XXX number of DUI tickets, he can’t leave his cell to again hear about the Program’s good news?

Would the Program shed any light on my question? Of course, I found it did. If I am stuck with a decision about something, I should, but don’t always, seek guidance from my Higher Power. What would He say to that street corner beggar? You bet he would say, “Give, don’t attached strings to your gift. It’s the Grace of the Program, just like the Program was carried to you several times before you really did something about it.”

I believe there is no limit to the time we spend carrying the Message. The offer is always open, no time limit on it. And I believe this is so regardless of the results. We’re not judged on how many people we convert to the ways of the Program. We simply tell them what it has meant to our lives; how we are given tools to better work our way through life’s bump and pits. The Program makes it clear that it is a program of attraction rather than promotion. And we learn from experience that it is only through constant daily contact with the workings of the Program and our Higher Power that we are able to have a chance to maintain the serenity in our lives the Program brings.

So, it is from God’s perspective. For me, the Program’s Higher Power is God manifested to us by Jesus of Nazareth. God is always with the beggar just as He is with us. Always, not now and then, but always. That’s His Grace. Christ teaches us to reach out to the poor, downhearted, prostitutes … and beggars.  Just as we continually carry the message of the Program, so too, are we to carry the same message of our Higher Power of hope and Grace by honoring the street corner beggar’s request. Can we turn down Christ who speaks as that beggar and is always of that beggar?   

JRA St X Noon