Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Help Others Where You Are

“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.” -- Matthew 25:35

A number of years ago a coworker walked into the office declaring that she’d be unpopular that day. She explained that she’d left a homeless man sitting in the back of her truck while he ate breakfast. She figured no one would appreciate passing a homeless person as they walked from their vehicles to the office. She was right.

She’d hadn’t planned to do it. She was buying herself breakfast from a food cart when she noticed him. He was hungry. What was she to do? She bought him breakfast.

Of course, many were quick to criticize her precedent. He should get out and get a job, is always a popular complaint. It’s his own fault, others added. Those more compassionate noted that there were food banks and soup kitchens for people like that. Some wondered how she could possibly help by buying him one meal. What would he do for lunch or dinner? Where would he sleep that night? And what about his long-term prospects for a job and housing?

She just shook her head. She wasn’t trying to save the world or even this man. She saw a need and she could help so she did. It really was that simple.

I wonder how different our world would be if every person who checks that “Christian” box simply did what he or she could where he or she saw a need. We don’t. It’s always somebody else’s problem -- the pastor, local charities, the government. Anybody but us.

It’s not that we don’t do anything. We write a check. We volunteer when there’s a group need, like after a storm or during a “work day” organized by our church or local civic club. But we don’t really want to get dirty in the day-to-day work of helping others. We don’t want to give away our hard-earned money to people we don’t think deserve it. We don’t want to take time we’d rather spend on our own activities and give it to a needy stranger.

And yet we claim to be Christians. We say that Jesus lives inside of us. We tell ourselves and others that we want to live a good life, a Christian life, a life like Jesus. Without the sacrifices.

That last part stings doesn’t it? Because Jesus wouldn’t walk past someone who is hungry, telling Himself it was someone else’s problem. And Jesus wouldn’t ignore that elderly neighbor down the street who is just so lonely. And Jesus certainly wouldn’t look the other way when someone else’s child desperately needed extra help with homework.

We don’t need to save the world. We don’t need to make the large contribution, the big commitment, the huge effort. We just need to do what we can, where we are. One person at a time. One meal at a time. One smile. One kind word. One step toward doing what Jesus would