I wanted to share with you, because of my experience this weekend….
July 2006
“One of the things that my heart has been broken by is once again my frustration with poverty, I know that in Gods word he says that the poor will always be with us (Mark 14:7), but why? I mean we have such large resources for people to get help, why do we still have poverty. I have eaten at several soup kitchens these past couple weeks, and it has made me truly step back and thank God for the food and wealth that I have. I know that there are many reasons why people are homeless, or are scraping by, but I still ask the question why? Is it because of pride, is it because of lack of family, is it because of ignorance? I do know this that I could sit around a coffee table and talk to my friends about theological issues, I could sit and talk about why the “church” is so imperfect, but that would not solve anything.Here is my challenge for the Body of Believers…when the “Church” is willing to eat together (even if it’s in a soup kitchen), listen and tell the truth to one another, clean together, peal potatoes together, this is when the Gospel comes alive not in our debating!”
This pass weekend the hubby and I took a trip to Arizona to see the Cardinals play. It was a nice mini road trip, and we made friends along the way.
You see the reason that I speak of poverty is because of something that I experienced at the ball game. We were sitting there laughing , cheering and have a wonderful time, when a man caught my eye. I looked down a couple of rows down and I saw something, something that got me thinking. I saw a man in a large white shirt which hung down to his ankles almost like a dress. The shirt was filthy covered in mud tracks, and the man’s skin was so dark and so old. His shoes were torn and looked like they were way too small. He sat there with his head down between his legs shaking back and forth as though he was shivering. My initial thoughts were of fear, and then I started to feel sorry for him. He was leaning over to take peoples leftover hot dog wrappers, and the last sips of peoples sodas left behind. I wanted to do something, I wanted to go get him a meal, and I felt my heart soften for this man, but like most people I didn’t do anything. I disappointed myself, I let fear get in my way.
The ironic part of this experience was seeing these multi-millionaires playing a sport that many like to watch, but this homeless man didn’t give a rip. He was just looking for food and was not interested in the game. He was focusing on the thing he truly needed.
It makes me think of those of us in this world who believe money can’t buy happiness. There may be things out there that we want and we don’t have the means to get them, but what we do have we take for granted.
Don’t let the things of the world, take your eyes, your focus off what is important, what is priceless. I am just as lousy as the next person when it comes to want and greed. I want to be different, I don’t want to let my self down again, and not for me, but for something so much greater then myself. Step in to his shoes….
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