Sage advice from the latest Humans of NY:
“My parents used to tell us: with what little you have, be a blessing to others. But my father also said this: don’t let people smell your money. I didn’t know what he meant. But what he meant is: when you have things, don’t announce it. Because once you announce it, people smell it. The aroma gets in them, and they start to make it theirs. They’ll start to think: I need it more than him, he can give some to me. And they’ll come up with a thousand reasons to get it from you. Don’t get me wrong, they’re real reasons. But six months later: here comes another one. You’d think that the more you do, the less you’ll need to do. But it doesn’t seem to work that way. With a lot of people, the more you do, the more they seem to need. It’s not good psychologically. And it’s not good economically. For my whole life I’ve been the person people come to. But I’m almost sixty now. I’m not where I want to be, so I’m slowing down on the giving. I still want to be a part of the whole thing: pay it forward, be blessed to be a blessing. God is love, but God is also discernment. And I can’t let other people’s emergencies cause me to have an emergency.”
“My parents used to tell us: with what little you have, be a blessing to others. But my father also said this: don’t let people smell your money. I didn’t know what he meant. But what he meant is: when you have things, don’t announce it. Because once you announce it, people smell it. The aroma gets in them, and they start to make it theirs. They’ll start to think: I need it more than him, he can give some to me. And they’ll come up with a thousand reasons to get it from you. Don’t get me wrong, they’re real reasons. But six months later: here comes another one. You’d think that the more you do, the less you’ll need to do. But it doesn’t seem to work that way. With a lot of people, the more you do, the more they seem to need. It’s not good psychologically. And it’s not good economically. For my whole life I’ve been the person people come to. But I’m almost sixty now. I’m not where I want to be, so I’m slowing down on the giving. I still want to be a part of the whole thing: pay it forward, be blessed to be a blessing. God is love, but God is also discernment. And I can’t let other people’s emergencies cause me to have an emergency.”
