just a "typical" Sunday morning

This morning was an especially hard one in the city. I decided to stop by Starbucks before church (vs. my usual and cheaper stop, Dunkin Donuts) since I had been given a gift card. I stepped in the front door and got in the 7-person long-line, as is customary. There were lots of families in Starbucks, and one mother in particular was trying to parent her three blond boys who were climbing all over the inside rails as if it was a jungle gym. The mother turned for a second and there was a loud thunk as the smallest child's head hit the floor. From the sound of the fall everyone in the store knew it was a bad situation before the kid started crying. The mother desperately scooped up her child and the entire back of his head was bleeding and running down his coat. There was a flurry of activity as many people started grabbing napkins and asking salespeople for ice to help stop the bleeding. The father picked up the child and carried him off into a cab to take him to the hospital as the mother tried to gather the other children together.

After receiving my Chai Tea Latte, I exited the Starbucks and started my walk to church, which at that point was about 8 blocks away. I was stopped three times by beggars who asked me specifically for change (vs. just holding up a cardboard sign or shaking a cup of change to signify their need). One of the men I had passed at the same location the night before. I wondered if he had been there all night. Each time I was asked for change, I responded that I did not have change to give but would buy them food instead. They all declined. I was especially distraught not because they asked, but because I didn't think that they heard me when I offered another option to money. As soon as I began to explain that I would buy them food instead, they were already walking away. They could have legitimately wanted money for a purpose other than food, but I sensed that they had been so used to being told "no" when asking someone for money that if the person questioned had any response besides immediate provision, it was seen as rejection. It made me wonder about the state of depravity in general. Is the person worse off whose need is on display, or is it the state of the hearts of those who refuse to give aid? Clearly there is no black and white answer, but I think it is a question worthy of attention.