Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of these...

I went out this week with others from the church to look for homeless individuals. There were sack lunches to be handed out, and the locations were in the old district of town, across the tracks.

I witnessed a number of things, and I would like to tell you a few things about the homeless and about what God is doing with this outreach.

First, let me relate several encounters that we shared as we traveled about looking in alleys, around parks and abandoned buildings.

I never took notice before, but there are a large number of people who live in abandoned places. There was an elderly gentleman who was sitting in a chair on the porch of a condemned house. There were no windows, doors or facilities in that house. It was filled with refuse of various sorts, and clearly could not be maintained.

The man on the porch responded to the offer of a lunch negatively. He thanked us for the offer, but explained that he had enough money to buy food. He was still sitting in that chair, and said that this was once his home, but his retirement did not afford him the money to pay the bills and keep up the house. He still existed there, but with nothing we would consider “livable”. He did nothing wrong. He accomplished the steps our society considers acceptable, but was left in his old age in this condition because there was not enough money.

Next there was a shed or an old abandoned mechanics barn. On the outside was a sign that said “no drugs allowed”. There were five people living in this shed, and had banded together to prevent the drug traffickers from enticing them into that addictive process. I suppose they understood the need for mutual support in so dangerous an enterprise. I wonder how long it will last for them. We stopped and handed out lunches, and a woman asked “are you from a church?”. I responded that yes, we were, we just wanted to help folks out. She replied “well you made a hundred and one today!”.

As I ponder the life they lived and how they might have come to be homeless I remembered my own past. I was homeless for a time. I managed, by the Grace of God, to get back into mainstream society, but it was a rare case indeed. I had had the Holy Ghost and a lot of Biblical training to help me make choices that turned things around for me. These people do not necessarily have that advantage. I had prayer, and some people praying for me. There was a connection made for me when I could not help myself. This is the necessary ingredient needed to change the lives of those who are for one reason or another trapped in the darkness of the world. The chains that bind them are as real as air, and as easily palpable.

When God began to talk with me about this, I began to respond to God's influence in my heart with questions. I wondered how I could make any difference that mattered in these lives, other than to pray for them. What I did not realize was that God had prepared me well for this burden. He made me to know that it was the face-to-face contact that would make a difference. That there was a need for friendliness and trust before the goal could be realized.

I have spent a little time thinking about this. For those who do not understand, let me outline a few things for you to think about.

There are two basic ideas we have to embrace before we proceed to understand the situation of homelessness:
It could happen to any of us
The homeless are just like you and I.

There are people with advanced degrees, those who have had high paying jobs, and many who have, through no action of their own, found themselves stuck on the street. The main reasons people must exist this way are:

Some are illegal immigrants.
Some are veterans.
Some are people who found out a low-paying job doesn’t come close to paying for rent, electricity, food, and medicine.
Some have been rejected by family

The Bible speaks plainly about homelessness:

“And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.
Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with
thee.” (Leviticus 25:35-36 ).

“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” (Isaiah 58:6-8,9-10).

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
(Matthew 25:34-40).

Some important details:

With a tent and fifteen dollars, a homeless man can have shelter and food for the day, without the requirement of checking into a shelter, meeting its regulations about substance abuse and a curfew.
In any case, he will not find a job, a car, an apartment or health insurance this way. An abandoned building is also just as useful to him.

Homeless people who have worked in the past may be able to receive Social Security or even disability. If you combine this with the income from a full time, minimum-wage job, most could not afford the cheapest rent, electricity, and food.

There are a number who simply cannot work for a list of reasons that are larger than the following list, but are all still a reality:

because of physical disabilities.
because of mental illnesses.
because They are lacking in people skills and have a severe lack of coping ability.

They are fugitives from society, the society that we represent. They certainly will be uncomfortable with the idea of attending church at first. Many will simply say no to any involvement from a church on an ongoing arrangement. They want to stay where they are. They are often in the clutches of darkness (most likely all of them are, in some fashion or another).

We want to gain a foothold in that community by showing them that the establishment is not after them through us; that we are there to help and not exploit them. Until this presence is established, they will not respond well to the idea that we want them to change. I cannot change them if I tried, anyway. We need God to do a spiritual work in them.

God may be presented to these folks in a slightly different way. It must be shown to them that God has not abandoned them, and that He is able to heal them spiritually. Until that spiritual healing begins, they have almost zero chance of finding a better life or trying to integrate back into mainstream society. Remember, many of these are the people which cannot enter the established missions for help, either.

A spiritual outreach to help these people will take significant time. It will take dedication and resources.

The homeless are also aware of the fallacy of self-interest and self gratification. We must accomplish the goal of harvest in the forgotten fields, rather than just satisfy our own convictions about helping the homeless.

If you have a moment to pray for us in this effort, we will all benefit from it.