Under the Overpass - Portland
“What Sam and I quickly learned living on the streets is that daily basics play a huge part in defining both a person’s social status and self-respect. No bed, no shower, no toilet equals no dignity.
“Think about it next time you walk past someone huddled in a doorway. It’s the easiest thing in the world to decide that the woman or man huddled there is choosing to dress in rags and reek of urine and body odor. Their choice, of course, means you can’t be blamed for ignoring her or him. The person doesn’t want to be pleasant, so you don’t need to care. At the very least, you don’t have to respond as you would if it were your mother or your brother huddled there” (107).
*I have used the “choice” rationale to deny assistance to someone in need. Yes, people have made bad choices. Why does that mean we should not help them? Because they don’t deserve it? Should we get on the topic of what people/we deserve? I’m certain none of us will be left standing. God, help me treat those in need as You would treat them through me, as only I am able to do. (I believe each of us brings the presence of Christ in a unique way).
“An ongoing struggle to find safety, a place to sleep, a bathroom, and food becomes dehumanizing for anyone. One experience at a time, a person’s sense of dignity and sense of self-worth gets stripped away” (113).
“Blithely allowing this terrible stripping to occur is a blot on the conscience of America, and especially on the conscience of the church. If we as believers choose to forget that everyone – even the shrunken soul lying in the doorway – is made in the image of God, can we say we know our Creator? If we respond to others based on their outward appearance, haven’t we entirely missed the point of the gospel?” (113)
*What will it take to awaken me? What will it take to awaken the church? We are distant from the Lord’s heart if we are distant from those in need.
“Christ cared a lot about the simple dignities. He stopped to talk to lepers, and touch them with healing (Luke 5:13). He prepared meals for strangers. He rescued outcasts. He wept with those who wept.
“Of course, the issue isn’t completely defined by our response. The consequences of substance abuse, poverty, and irresponsibility have left countless men and women on our streets without a single outward shred of dignity. But Christ is not deterred by that. As C.S. Lewis wrote: ‘Christ died for men precisely because they are not worth dying for: to make them worth it’” (113,14).
*Father, help me see people as sacred.
“Think about it next time you walk past someone huddled in a doorway. It’s the easiest thing in the world to decide that the woman or man huddled there is choosing to dress in rags and reek of urine and body odor. Their choice, of course, means you can’t be blamed for ignoring her or him. The person doesn’t want to be pleasant, so you don’t need to care. At the very least, you don’t have to respond as you would if it were your mother or your brother huddled there” (107).
*I have used the “choice” rationale to deny assistance to someone in need. Yes, people have made bad choices. Why does that mean we should not help them? Because they don’t deserve it? Should we get on the topic of what people/we deserve? I’m certain none of us will be left standing. God, help me treat those in need as You would treat them through me, as only I am able to do. (I believe each of us brings the presence of Christ in a unique way).
“An ongoing struggle to find safety, a place to sleep, a bathroom, and food becomes dehumanizing for anyone. One experience at a time, a person’s sense of dignity and sense of self-worth gets stripped away” (113).
“Blithely allowing this terrible stripping to occur is a blot on the conscience of America, and especially on the conscience of the church. If we as believers choose to forget that everyone – even the shrunken soul lying in the doorway – is made in the image of God, can we say we know our Creator? If we respond to others based on their outward appearance, haven’t we entirely missed the point of the gospel?” (113)
*What will it take to awaken me? What will it take to awaken the church? We are distant from the Lord’s heart if we are distant from those in need.
“Christ cared a lot about the simple dignities. He stopped to talk to lepers, and touch them with healing (Luke 5:13). He prepared meals for strangers. He rescued outcasts. He wept with those who wept.
“Of course, the issue isn’t completely defined by our response. The consequences of substance abuse, poverty, and irresponsibility have left countless men and women on our streets without a single outward shred of dignity. But Christ is not deterred by that. As C.S. Lewis wrote: ‘Christ died for men precisely because they are not worth dying for: to make them worth it’” (113,14).
*Father, help me see people as sacred.
posted by Dave Jones | 5:43 PM
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