Ok.  Here's the scenario. A Christian family with small children was having a gathering of friends and family - a cookout to be exact - on the Fourth of July.  Everything was going well.  The food worked out nice and people appeared to be having a pretty good time.  PERFECT!

Dinner was being served outside on the front porch.  Someone said to the hostess, "Hey!  Who's that guy over there talking with your husband?"  She looked up and saw an older scruffy-looking guy riding up her driveway on an old beat up bike.  She didn't recognize him.  He was saying something but she couldn't hear it.  Her husband was talking to the guy on the bike.  Turns out the man was alone on the Fourth of July and wanted a burger.  He said he lived down the street - just a few houses down.  He commented on how pretty her little girls were.  Her husband obliged.  He got the man a burger and sent him on his way. The hostess, on the other hand, was quite turned off.  The man appeared to be drunk, sort of slurring his words (or had he had a stroke at one time).  He knew where she lived.  He knew she had small children.  He made mention of her children.  He lived close by.  Could he have ulterior motives?  Have you seen the news lately?????

Now, if you are not a mother you need to be aware of something.  A mother has a strong need to protect her children.  It's not a choice.  It's instinct - same as a lioness with her cubs.  You've heard about women lifting cars to remove their children from underneath.  They don't think about it, they just do it. 

Anyhow, a few minutes later, the guy came back and put a thank you note in her mailbox.  The man was so happy that the hostess' husband had given him a burger.  So here comes the pondering.  Who was right?  The hostess or her husband?  What would you have done?  More importantly, what would our Lord have done?  Well, let's go to scripture to see if we can reference anything.  Three passages come to mind:

Matthew 7:1-2  Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Hebrews 13:2  Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Matthew 25:35-40  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.  I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'  Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'  "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

I guess there is no need to ponder.  The Bible made it abundantly clear.

Anonymous mother (struggling to show mercy in an unmerciful world)