The last thing you expect when you offer a homeless person some spare change is for them to pay you back.

You certainly wouldn’t expect the beggar to multiply your generosity by 100 times.

But on this hidden camera prank from Jimmy Kimmel Live, that’s exactly what Jimmy’s Cousin Sal does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P8fgzSK93Y

(Click Here if you can’t see the video above)

Dressed in disguise as a down on his luck window washer at an L.A. gas station, Cousin Sal offers to squeegee the cars of unsuspecting customers.

We’ve all been there. It’s an awkward and uncomfortable situation.

You feel pity for the unkempt beggar. You know you should help.

On the other hand, you don’t want to help too much.

We awkwardly allow the person to wash our windows for a few dollars, all the while wondering, “What if he’s a thief? Or just lazy? Or a drunk? Or a psychopath?”

Not once do we ever think, “What if he’s a writer for one of the most popular late night television shows in the country?”

Today you will be afforded an opportunity to be generous to someone in need. It will seem like an opportunity you have everyday. It will probably seem like a bit of an inconvenience.

It may not involve a homeless person. It may not involve money. It may just be someone who needs a little of your time or a tiny bit of kindness.

Instead of ignoring the opportunity or just trying to survive the moment, what if today you embraced that opportunity? What if today you gave cheerfully?

I’m not saying you’ll get your money back, much less have it multiplied. Nor do I think we should ever give expecting anything in return.

I am saying that God loves a cheerful giver. And what’s just a dollar or a breadcrumb or even a moment of time to us can make someone’s life a hundred times better today.

The hidden camera is always on us. Our actions are never hidden from His eyes. You never know when a simple act will pay dividends.

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)

Happy Friday.

What will you do today to