I do not practice what I preach.
As much as I would like to believe that
what I am about to say is the exact thing I practice, I can't lie to
you. I want to be better, I do. I am working on it. However, it is a
very hard thing to start living out.
What is that thing you may ask?
Well, what I am talking about is
service. A specific type of service. I think there is a lot of good
in doing something like building a house or church in Mexico. It is
something you can talk about as well without sounding like you're
bragging. “Well, this summer I went on vacation with my family and
then went to Mexico to build a church with my church”. Now don't
hear me wrong. There is something noble and something honorable
about going to Mexico or another foreign country to build a church or
a home or a hospital. Building a building in Mexico is not easy work.
It is hot. It is hard labor. It is HOT.
But.
There is another type of service that I
believe gets overlooked more often that not. It is not a glamorous
type of service and it's not something that you normally hear people
talking about. However, it is a service that has really been on my
heart lately after some encounters and conversations with friends.
That service is to the homeless population. Now, I can hear the
questions already.
“Aren't a lot of them drug
addicts/former drug addicts?”
“What if they're a con man who
doesn't really need help?”
“Couldn't they get out of their
situation if they really wanted to?”
I am ashamed to say that I myself have
asked some of these questions to justify just walking on by. But a
question I have started asking myself is- does it really matter?
Wouldn't you rather help someone who didn't need help than NOT help
someone who needed help? I realize I may be stepping on some people's
toes by this post. But something I think we need to keep in mind is
that a lot of people out there have had hard, rough lives. Some of
them due to themselves, but some due to circumstances out of their
control. There are people out there that are hurting. Possibly the
same thing that happened to someone is homeless happened to you and
you recovered and continued with your life. And that is GREAT!
However, some people were not that lucky.
I know that there is a lot of
discussion out there about giving money, but you don't have to give
money to help people. There a lot of ways. And what would that mean
for you? Buying them a sandwich? A hot drink? A blanket? As initially
ridiculous this may sound, just giving someone a sandwich could save
their life. For a person who has time and again been knocked down,
ignored, abandoned- whatever the case may be- just knowing there is
someone on earth that cares enough to buy them a sandwich or a drink,
start a conversation with them or even just make eye contact, could
be enough to completely change their way of thinking. Something so
little for us could change someone's life. So what if they're a con
man? That's a risk you take helping people. And if they are, what's
the worst that happened? You gave a man a sandwich who didn't really
need it.
Some people that are homeless are
homeless because they made choices to be that way. Some are
continuing to make those choices. Some could improve their situation
but don't and some just choose to live that life. However, almost all
of them need some form of help or encouragement. We all do. When
the Bible talks about service, it does not say “help those that
only ask for it” or “help those that you judge for yourself
deserve your help”. Service is not about what people deserve or
earn anymore than salvation through Christ is something we deserve or
earn. 1 Peter 4:10 states “Each one should use whatever gift he has
received to serve others, faithfully administering God's
grace in its various forms”.
God's grace is not something that we only show people who deserve it.
Can you imagine if God's grace was only given to people who “deserved
it”? I'll let you in on a secret- no one would be a recipient of
that. Thankfully, it is a gift. A gift that we should share with
anyone we come in contact with.
No matter their race.
No matter their background.
No matter their social class.
No matter their job.
No matter their faith.
No matter their situation in life.
The
list goes on. My encouragement to you is this. And I'm warning you
now- it's the hardest thing yet. Actively look for people that need
God's grace. Sometimes the people hardest to give it to are the
people that need it the most. Look for them, whether they be the mean
person at work, the homeless man you pass every morning, or the
neighbor who's always yelling at the neighborhood kids. Look for
them. And once you find them- love them. Serve them. Whatever it
takes. It may not be outwardly rewarding. You may get shut down,
rejected, or ridiculed. I promise though, a lifetime of service will
never leave you with regrets.
Be
salt and light!
~Hannah~
