Melissa and I have some friends who are missionaries in South Africa. We had lunch with them today and they told us a story of some of their experiences at one of the churches (in America) they served previously.
A homeless man had been living out of his van and had been parking his van in or around the church parking lot for a few days. One day, the man comes into the church while some folks are there. He goes over to the kitchen with a piece of bread and simply asks if he can use their toaster. He just happens to ask the woman who is the Hospitality Director. Oh the irony. So this woman tells him no he cannot use the toaster. She then unplugs the toaster (which had been sitting on the counter in full view), puts in the cabinet, and locks the cabinet.
Shortly after that, the youth group at this same church begins to collect canned goods for their annual Souper Bowl of Caring. The youth group would keep bags set up around the church and folks would just drop in their canned good donations. Someone happened to notice that the same homeless fellow mentioned earlier happened to wander by and reach into one of the bags and grab a can of green beans. The next day, the bags were all moved and placed in locked closets. When my friend asked why, he was told that they couldn't leave those out. The food was being collected for homeless people.
Now I certainly don't offer this story as an indictment of that particular church. Though I am proud of my friend who did tell them what he thought in a sermon the following Sunday.
I offer this story to encourage all of us to consider a pretty simple point. It's great to go out and do good things. But I think Jesus is pretty clear about WHY we go out and do good things. If it isn't coming out of a heart that truly loves, then it's pretty much useless. Empty gestures, really. Read the book of Amos for more on that.
But if our heart is truly filled with compassion, if our heart breaks for the outcast, the widow, the orphan, the poor, etc, then we won't be able to help but respond when the need knocks on our own door.
May your heart be filled with the love of Christ for all people.
That's a pretty convicting story! Could we as a church be doing more, say, even with the Overflow Shelter? I know it's not written to be taken literally but it's something to think about.
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty impressive how it's easy for us to let this dichotomy grow between how we act when we are 'out' serving and how we act when we're at 'home'-- as if a life of service is something that can be turned on and off...
ReplyDeleteBy the way, that toaster looks amazing.
If Jesus himself appeared at that Church for a quick looksee at how it was carrying out his work, would he appear in the form of the hospitality director or the homeless man in the parking lot?
ReplyDeleteHave you heard the best song ever?
ReplyDelete"Instead of a Show" by Jon Foreman (lead singer for Switchfoot). Kind of describes this story. And the song is from Amos 5:21-27 and Isaiah 1. Turns out this junk has been going on a long time.