"The one where I talk about the homeless"

My wife and I like the television show "Friends"...a lot....probably more than the average person should like a television show. It isn't uncommon for my wife to sigh after an episode and say "I wish these people were real." Anyway, all of the titles of their episodes are "The one with" or "The one where"...so...I've decided that I'm going to jump on the bandwagon of the Christian trend to steal stuff from pop-culture and use it for our very own....and title my blogs like they would on Friends.

Now to my actual blog entry for today....

I have noticed on the news the past several months coming from Tampa/St. Pete that they are in the middle of trying to figure out how to deal with homelessness. By deal with it...I mean...they're trying to figure out how to make it so people aren't uncomfortable or feel unsafe when they see a homeless person. They're trying to create laws that prohibit them from asking for money or standing on the side of the street. I was relieved last night to see that a police officer stand up and say that we have a duty to address the situation and help the individuals in need.

The officer said something very important...."help the individuals." These people are human beings created out of the same dirt in the Garden of Edan that we were. Their lungs are filled with air because God breathed life into Adam. We need to stop looking at them as being nothing more than an addiction or poor choice that got them in their circumstance and see them as being creations of God.

I'm not saying I'm perfect or that I reach out like I should...because the reality is I'm battling this same issue in my heart. It destroys me to see that we are trying to pass laws because we're uncomfortable seeing these people. We're disquise our disapproval of their homelessness with excuses like "I don't know what they're going to do with the money" or "they need help beyond what I can offer."

We're uncomfortable around them...but the thing is...these are the very people Jesus would be reaching out to if He walked this earth today. He wouldn't be reaching out to help those of us who have everything, because we don't get it. We don't understand what it is like to have to humble ourselves to the point of where we have to beg for survival. We don't understand what it is like to have no idea where our next meal is going to come from. Not knowing if it is going to be Red Lobster, Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill does not compare.

Jesus reached out to the least of these. The social outcasts of the communities. He healed them, fed them and taught them. If we try to pass laws to keep them away or we avoid making eye contact with these people because we're afraid that their situation is somehow contagious. Christ came as an example of what a servant is to be like. When our government understands that we're called to serve the least of our nation...then we will truly be "One nation, under God."