As I sipped my morning coffee in my favorite comfy chair my mind wondered to those people out there that can’t get out of bed and get a warmer blanket. They have no blanket and no bed, they sleep in doorways and alleys and parks.
I remembered how cold Bo had been after the track meet last night. It had rained and they were out in it for several hours. He made me feel how cold and wet his shirt and shoes were. He had been miserable but he came home and dried out and wore a different pair of shoes to school today. I thought of those who don’t have another pair of shoes when theirs get wet or worn out and have no home to go to when the weather gets bad.
And for just a minute I thought, “Well, those people chose that lifestyle.” But how did they choose it? Did they choose it by making bad choices? Did they choose it because they have no family to fall back on? Did they choose it because the rest of us snub them and they prefer to escape our mockery? What would it take for me or someone I love to get into that situation? Is there someone out there that loves them?
I recently read Under the Overpass, by Mike Yankoski, a Christian who lived as a homeless person for 5 months. He posed this question: “Is addiction a greater sin than not loving?” That question keeps coming back to me and I know the answer. The great commandment says to love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive‘.”
Acts 20:35
God, You have blessed me richly in many way. Help me to love other people more than I love my possessions or my own time. May I give of myself, in thanks to the one who gave himself for me. Amen
(prayer is from Words to Live by for Teens)
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