Today, I went to the flea market with my dad and my siblings. (Dad was picking up his Fury, with the all-new, super-awesome sound system.) So Sarie and I left, and on the way out, there was a fairly common sight that you see in Jacksonville: a homeless person with a poorly-made cardboard sign. The message on the sign was also fairly common: "Homeless and Disabled. Please Help. God Bless." The man was limping, and you could tell that there was something wrong with his eyes. And something about this man just really made me want to help him. I just had this strong gut feeling to give him something, to help him out. However, because of all the horror stories I've heard about helping people and having them turn out to be ax murderers, I texted my dad and asked him to give him money on my behalf. As I watched him limp past me, I was filled with compassion for this man who wasn't begging...just walking past with a sign. He never approached a car. He never spoke to anyone. He just walked by with his sign.
The second part of this story is also fairly common: a youth group car wash on Beach Blvd. collecting money for Jesus or Orphans, depending on what sign you read. From far away, I could tell that they were obnoxious. They were running up and down the median, and shouting out how we should donate because it's for Jesus! It's for the orphans! And maybe that kind of enthusiasm is good. But they approached my car, and when I didn't acknowledge them, they physically knocked on my window and told me they knew I could hear them and proceeded to give me a speech about why I should donate. At that moment, I felt entirely embarrassed for their youth group. What in the world would make that okay?
The comparison between these two people to me was blog-worthy. I'm not saying that to raise money for a youth group missions trip, we should have disabled people not asking for money. It wasn't a difference in appearance. It was a difference in attitude. I believe in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5), it says that the meek shall inherit the earth. The verse that came to my mind was Matthew 25:35. In the New Testament, we're given two commandments to follow: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. How are you taking that literally today? Who are you feeding? Who are you clothing? Who are you showing love to today? Are you representing your organization (in this case, God) in a way that expresses His value statements?
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