Imagine shopping around town spending your hard-earned money and when you return home you find you have some extra money in your pocket. We all know what pickpockets do and know it’s a crime, but have you heard of the new phenomenon ‘putpockets?’ Twenty former pickpockets are paying it forward and rewarding unsuspecting Londoners with money. They slip it in pockets, purses and bags hoping to help others.
Broadband provider TalkTalk is funding the initiative which runs until the end of August before being rolled out countrywide. By the time it’s finished 100,000 pounds (that’s just over $160,000) will have been given away. In the Bible, God tells people to give back to others. Hebrews 13:16 says “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
I’ve heard of people passing through a toll on a highway and out of nowhere they pay for the car behind them. What if it became a cycle and people just continued paying for others? A gentleman who attends my church recently came into the office and he brought a coffee for our campus pastor. He did it just because he heard his pastor was having a tough day.
But giving back to others doesn’t necessarily have to involve money. On the web, the Random Acts of Kindness foundation is full of ideas and stories about what others are doing around the world. It provides materials like activity ideas, lesson plans, project planning guides and workplace resources. Random Acts of Kindness also has a Twitter account sharing a new kind idea each day.
Maybe the “putpocking” will spread to the U.S. Having extra money show up in your pocket always puts a smile on your face especially in this economy. Click on the video below to watch the London putpocketers in action.