Last night I slept overnight on an old couch in the lower
level of our church’s fellowship hall. I was the overnight host as part of our church’s
work with Family Promise, a
cooperative that provides temporary
shelter for those who are homeless. It’s
been a long time since I thought about what it means to have a home, a bed to
call my own, a place to park my stuff and myself! But, there in that room, alone, my gratitude was renewed. This morning, as I
greeted the guests, one rejoiced that she had found a job. Another man’s face was downcast. He was defeated
by life, simply overwhelmed. Then, as clear as could be, it came to me – they are me! I could take pride that I have ‘stuff’ but I
would be a fool to do so. I am blessed
of God, pure and simple.
Who among us has not,
at one time or another, saw a homeless person and thought, “Oh, those kind
of people…” while we formulated some
reason that they, not us, are in that situation. Drugs, alcohol, poor money
management, bad work habits, lazy – their fault, right? Let’s hit the pause button for a moment. It could it be that a perfect storm of
illness, job loss, and being without extended family swept over them. A significant percentage of families in
America live check to check, without a financial reserve. Just a few things going wrong at the same
time could push them into homelessness. Without friends or family, they too,
would be looking for shelter.
Even if some kind of poor choice is involved, can I ignore
their present plight? The Proverbs arrest us with this wisdom: "The poor are despised even by their
neighbors, while the rich have many “friends.” It is sin to despise one’s
neighbors; blessed are those who help the poor." (Proverbs 14:20-21,
NLT) The poor are not ‘those kind of
people.’ They are our brothers and our
sisters, people God loves, worthy of being treated with dignity. Even if we cannot solve all their problems,
we can always make each one know that he is still visible, a person who matters
to us, to God. The Bible is full of
instruction about loving the poor. Under
the OT law, a creditor could not hold a man’s coat, given as security for a
loan, overnight. Farmers were instructed
to leave the harvest in the corners of their fields so the poor could go out
and glean for themselves. There was a complex system for returning a family’s
land to them in 50 year cycles to prevent perpetual poverty. (The 50th
year was called Jubilee)
Disciple, I want to encourage you in two ways today.
First, be thankful for your blessings. True
gratitude is without pride. Adopt the attitude that Paul had. “Because
God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his
grace go to waste.” (The Message, 1
Corinthians 15:10).
Second, care! Ask
God to keep your heart and wallet open. “
If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s
a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the
floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become
judges with evil thoughts?" (James 2:2-4, NIV)
____________
We Will Stand
You're my brother,
you're my sister,
So take me by the hand;
Together we will work
until He comes.
There's no foe that
can defeat us,
When we're walking
side by side,
As long as there is
love
We will stand!
Sometimes it's hard
for me to understand,
Why we pull away from
each other so easily?
Even though we're all
walking the same road
Yet we build dividing
walls,
Between our brothers
and ourselves.
The day will come, when we will be as one,
And with a mighty voice
Together we will proclaim that Jesus,
Jesus is King.
It will echo through the earth
It will shake the nations,
And the world will see,
See that
You're my brother,
you're my sister,
So take me by the hand;
Together we will work
until He comes.
There's no foe that
can defeat us,
When we're walking
side by side,
As long as there is
love
We will stand!
James Hollihan | Russ Taff | Tori Taff
© 1983 Word Music, LLC (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.)
CCLI License # 810055
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