“He’s just going to use it to get drunk.” That’s what I told myself when I saw a homeless man last week. There I was making my way through downtown, in my moderately nice vehicle on my way to an enjoyable evening of spending time with friends, cooking out (well technically it was cooking in. The grill was broken and George Foreman was used as a substitute. And on a side note. George Foreman is a genius. The world of indoor grilling was totally transformed when he stepped on the scene.). Here I am, stopped at a red light and I see this man. A little dirty, hasn’t shaved in a while and he has a sign. ANY BIT WILL HELP. GOD BLESS. I tried not to make eye contact with him at first, fearing that if our eyes met I would immediately feel guilty. I was only about 20 feet away from him, but I refused to make contact. I just kept my eyes looking straight ahead, even though I could sense that his eyes were locked onto me. Then the thought came up, “Don’t pay him any attention. Just ignore him. If you give him any money he will just go get drunk.”
I’ve been in this situation many times before. This is not the first homeless man that my path has crossed. There have been some I have ignored. Some I gave money to. Some I have talked with. Some I have bought food for. But no matter what I have done, that first thought to just ignore has almost always happened. Maybe I’m just an unsympathetic sinner?
I don’t consider myself that materialistic. I mean, I have some nice things, but I try not to let those things consume me or define me. I think I would be able to adapt pretty well if I was in some place where my things were stripped away from me, say like living in a hut in a village in Africa. I wouldn’t miss my SUV or my cell phone. But here’s this guy, out on a Saturday evening begging for money. Maybe he’s a drunkard, maybe he’s not. Maybe he’s just down on his luck, maybe he hasn’t been given the same opportunities I have. The fact is I have more than him. I have more stuff and that’s why I was sitting in my car listening to my ipod and he was on the street corner. Sure I can talk myself into ignoring him; I can rationalize myself to not be concerned with this man. I can subscribe to the idea that because I have more things than this man, then I am more important than he is. I could go that route.
But that’s not apart of following Christ. This lifestyle that I am trying to pursue, being after God’s own heart, well it tells me that I can’t ignore. That I can believe the idea that my stuff defines my worth. That I can’t believe that I am better than someone else because of what I have. If I am following Christ, I can’t choose to ignore a homeless man or simply write him off as a drunk. Yes, I do have more things than him, but I do not have more so I can keep more to myself. I have more so I can give more. “We are blessed so we can be a blessing,” is something I heard a pastor say once.
I don’t want this view of social status to keep me from following Christ. I don’t want to believe that this man and I are on different levels because of the things we have or do not have. God made this guy just as he made me. I am not better than him. I am not better than him. (I just thought I needed to repeat myself.) And I don’t want to help the poor or the homeless to make myself feel better. I don’t want to help the poor or the homeless so that I will feel less guilty for having more stuff. I want to do it because that’s what God wants. He doesn’t want me to question their neediness or to turn a blind eye. He wants me to show the love that I have been shown. And since I am trying to take my relationship with Him seriously, I want to do more of what He wants me to do. I want to not ignore signs that read ANY BIT WILL HELP. GOD BLESS. Walk in love…
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