But---- not in the traditional way where you go down to a local soup kitchen or help make up food baskets for your church to hand out during the holidays. I am talking about something much more personal and inconveniencing.
Are you up for the challenge?
The Lord's word says this.......
There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward those of your people who are poor and needy in your land.
Deuteronomy 15:11 (Today's New International Version)
I am poor and needy,
but, LORD God,
you care about me,
and you come to my rescue.
Please hurry and help.
Psalm 40:17 (Contemporary English Version)
Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
Isaiah 58:7 (New Living Translation)
I encourage you to as you are driving around either running errands, or driving to the mall, or leaving Wal-Mart, or coming back from a wonderful meal eaten in restaurant with your family, to be on the look out for a homeless person holding a sign. Or it might be someone pushing a grocery cart full of their belongings down the road. Or it might be a dirty, worn out looking woman hanging out around a motel. The point is to find someone who is tired, who is thirsty, and who is hungry.
The first time I turned around and did a U-turn so that I could go through a McDonald's drive thru to get a homeless person sitting at an intersection a drink and a hamburger, my kids thought I was a little nuts. But as they saw the man accept the food and the spare change that I had in my console, they knew it was the right thing to do.
Ever since, it has become a tradition to help these people in need without judging whether or not they even need it in the first place. When we were in between trips during our first adoption, I was driving home from downtown Fresno after apostilling a bunch of documents and noticed 2 or 3 homeless people sleeping under a freeway pass. For some reason, I felt the overwhelming urge to go home and cook up scrambled eggs, fried potatoes and toast so that I could drive all the way back to feed those people. I also took them some bottled water, toiletries, and an old pillow.
I do not give myself any credit---- it truly was all His doing, but it was I that was blessed. I share this not to brag because when you look at the big picture, I did not do very much at all, but by following what I felt God called me to do and being able to now share about it now, I think God can accomplish way more--- now, through all of you.
So this weekend, I dare you to go out of your comfort zone and pay attention to the rugged and broken man sitting on the street corner holding a homeless sign and bless him with a hot meal. I can already picture it--- you holding up the traffic behind you in the turn lane so that you can roll down the window and hand the man a bag of fresh hot food. That would be awesome!
I do warn you however-- if your kids are with you, and you take the time to explain what you are doing and why, they will want to do this all the time, and all of a sudden you will see many more people in need than you ever have before.
15 comments:
Amen! My response to people who insist I shouldn't help them is this:
They are standing for hours and hours in blistering hot heat or freezing temperatures. That is work I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
But mainly, they are someone's child, brother, sister, mother,father,and I would want someone to help a member of my family.
The bible says,"Whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers, that you do unto me."
Wow! What a challenge. I have done this once, but not made it a regular thing. You have challenged my thinking.
I just caught up on all your recent posts. Just wanted to say HI! and let you know I was here. I hope you have a fun Halloween or Reformation Day, whichever you participate in. :o)
We have done this, too, and if I fail to my kids point it out to me. Once it wasn't really safe to get to the person, he was on the other side of a median - and guess what - we saw someone else give him pizza. God provides!
Our church serves as an overflow shelter for the homeless. I challenge others to ask their churches, what use is the building sitting empty all week long? Sure activities happen there, but ours can be closed off so that a portion is safely used to house the homeless for a week at a time, several times a year during cold months...there are ways to overcome such obstacles. It is up to us as the body to feed them while they are with us, therefor not much extra cost to the church itself. This is one of my very favorite things about our church. We are going there tonight - chili for dinner! Got enough for 20! :)
oh, i love this post! Thanks for the challenge. i just posted about as a child growing up with nothing material and i saw the wealth all around me...now i can help, and I desire to serve and obey Him...i couldn't do it on my own strength!
Bravo bravo Bravo Christine! Sooo happy you posted this challenge. I have made it a rule in my life ( for about 6 years now) to ALWAYS stop when I see someone in need, no matter WHAT ( unless, i'm rushing to the hospital or something). It has changed my life. I have met the most amaxing people and heard the most amazing stories. So, although I already do this pretty much weekly, i am going to dedicate the next one to you, and blog about it. Its funny, bc I planned on blogging about this very thing over the next few days bc of an anonymous comment left on my blog. The person basically was saying I was putting my child in danger for helping someome. I, like you, do not really care if others thimk I'm crazy, stupid, naive, or what have you for doing this. It is the right and goof thing to do. Like you, I KNOW He is working thru me. It's not me. But I'm the lucky instrument He is using!
oops! Sorry for all the typos in that comment I left! I was pretty excited and didn't spell check!
I am in total awe! The Lord has already challenged me to do this a couple times in the past couple weeks. :)
That is a huge challenge. I have new respect for you Christine. I know it sounds bad, but I don't even know if there are any homeless around here (I guess in farming areas there may be less???) I will keep my eyes open. Thanks for sharing.
This is a regular thing we do. We live in a neighborhood that many look down on and would consider "ghetto". The opportunities to bless someone are just a street corner away here. We are on a first name basis with the teen prostitutes and feed them on a regular basis when they have some "free" time between tricks.
I love this challeneg because it is the way we live. I hope many will follow it!
The poor can be 'pimped out'. Oh, I do not doubt they are poor, needy, etc, but some are used - and abused. I have personally seen a man strike a child in order to make him cry, then send him over to shoppers to beg, holding a moldy orange in his filthy little hand. There are also drug abusers, everywhere in the world. And some people are honest beggars in need... so, tell me, how do you tell the difference between the honest, the abusers, and the abused?? You can't. I refuse to support the last two, so to get to the honest people, I prefer to support those who will be better at telling the difference - local charity organizations. It is tough to step around a deformed elderly woman on the sidewalk with her hand out - especially with the kids in tow... but I know that the woman did not get there by herself. Someone put her there. And as cold-hearted as this may sound, while I realize that in some cases, a beggar can be 'placed' and given benefits from their earnings... I also know that a well-fed clean child, or a healthy, comfortable-looking elderly woman, would not be a good sympathy magnet ... their handler would keep them pathetic in order to earn more. Nope. Nothing from me. I will not encourage that. I do, and will continue to, support charities, and let them feed and house the needy... they have better ability to provide what is actually needed, with more knowledge to avoid abuse.
I explain this to the kids too. I want them to learn to give - Honor and I went out 'reverse Trick-or Treating' tonight. Gave all the police in the area candy. Simple, but those guys don't have much, and it was an act of kindness to show appreciation for their being there. I include the kids in charity or other giving when I can. I also explain why we do not support beggars on the street... why I believe it hurts more than it helps. There are alternatives and we explain why we use them.
I might see giving food, something that could be consumed immediately, only in certain circumstances, but never cash...
Hmm - this will take some thinking. We live in a town of 2000. There are no homeless people that we know of. That being said, when people are in trouble they come to our door (my husband is the minister of one of the churches).
It's a tricky one, because if we help someone out who is really in need, which we do, we invariably get a stack of their family and friends in the following days. It's hard to not be cynical, and there really is only so much we can do... and we do not give out cash. If it's fuel to get to a funeral, we give the fuel, etc.
My children love to give to people who are begging. They point them out to me if I miss them.
I almost always give to the elderly, often give to adults, and rarely give to children (because I don't want it to be so profitable that their parents won't see the point in educating them), but of course only the Holy Spirit knows their need and we have to depend on Him for wisdom in each case.
I was going to respond and then it became a whole post(!): Challenge on One Mothers Day.
But I do want to respond to Connie's remarks. Yes. I think she is right to a great degree. For years we've worked with a weekend day shelter where we not only serve a meal, but provide boxes of groceries to people with children. The woman who runs this program grew up in the south, in very poor circumstances. She is African American. What has amazed me again and again, is how firm (well, even harsh!) she sometimes seems to be. She calls people on everything, doesn't let anyone get away with anything. Even then, she'll share with me that there are many times people have taken advantage of charity. I guess that component makes this kind of work even more difficult.
Still....when it comes to little opportunities that come along.... We had an elderly priest once who said that if he were going to make a mistake, he would far rather it be a charitable one.
Great challenge. When we lived in Ft. Lauderdale we would keep a cooler in the car with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drinks so we could pass them out.
I truly admire you so much, more with each post.
I honestly do help every time we have the extra money, but your post inspires me to watch more, pay attention more, and I promise you I will accept your challenge!
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