Be the Change

Yesterday, I met a man who was homeless.

Generally, I am an introverted person. I am not someone who randomly speaks to strangers. My friend, however, talks to everyone. And whenever we hang out, it is guaranteed that at some point, she will talk to someone we do not know.

Yesterday, it was a man who had snuck inside the restaurant where we were eating lunch to fill up a 7-Eleven cup from the drink station. As he was working his way out, she called him over to our table. She invited him to sit and offered half her sandwich.

I thought he would be hesitant to join two women he did not know, but I must have merely been projecting because he immediately sat down and began to eat. He seemed overall cheerful. My friend started asking him friendly questions.

His name was Benjamin (okay, it wasn't, but changing the name to protect the innocent...). He told us he had been living on the street for the last year and a half with his wife. Then, he surprised us by sharing how he had it all before: a half a million dollar house, an expense account, a fancy job, a nice car. Stability. After he got in trouble with the IRS, he lost everything.

The surprising bit was when he told us he wouldn’t necessarily go back to it, even if he had the chance to do so. There was a freedom to living on the streets, he said. Yes, sometimes it was scary or dangerous. Sometimes it was really hot or too cold. But there was a freedom to being able to make his own decisions and be away from the busyness of it all.

Benjamin didn't fit the stereotypes of the homeless or the picture we may think about. He didn’t appear to be an addict or mentally ill. He certainly wasn’t violent. He was just a nice guy who had run into some bad luck, though possibly through his causing, and never gotten back on his feet. At least, not in the way we would judge as successful. But these circumstances didn’t stop him from being content and kind and thankful for the little he did have. 

As a sidenote, most people who are homeless do not fit these stereotypes. 2023 saw record numbers of people who were homeless. There were over 650,000 people last year in the U.S. who experienced homelessness. About one out of six of those were children. Two out of every three were people of color - Black/African American or Latino. While rates of substance use and mental illness are somewhat higher among our homeless population than among the general population, there are still many people who experience homelessness and yet have neither.

Meeting Benjamin made me stop and reflect on a few things. For one, how quickly life can change. Two, all the things I have to be thankful for. Three, on how many of us have even more than we need. We think we need all these things to be happy or to feel safe. But... do we?

In my classes, I have been studying theories of ethics. One such theory says the need to hoard resources and the resistance to sharing with those in need comes from a fear of scarcity. This concept that there won’t be enough for everyone. 

And what is interesting is, this fear is widespread throughout our country, even among those who have always had enough and have never experienced scarcity.  So, where does it come from?

I propose it comes from cultural and political messaging. Messaging that dictates what we need and how much of it we need and how we can get more of it. Messaging around the "self-made man" and "if they just work harder they'd do better". Messaging which ignores social boundaries and systemic inequalities and supports ideas of entitlement and privilege.

This messaging certainly does not come from the Gospel. It does not come from God. Our God is a God of abundance and of unlimited resources. From the very beginning of the Scriptures, we see Him telling people to share - to share with the less fortunate, to care for those who have no support, to provide for the poor. These are common themes within the Bible, from cover to cover. We are told to give generously to those in need. To feed the hungry and clothe the naked and welcome the stranger and visit those in prison. We are told to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. 

The early church community shared everything they had with one another so no one was in need. If there are Christians without within our community, that is a shame on all of us with. We don’t need as much as we think we do. I am speaking to myself here, too. It’s OK to have wealth and resources. It’s not OK to keep them all to yourself. God blesses you so you may bless others.

That’s not to say that those who follow Him don’t sometimes fall on bad luck or run out of food or get kicked out of their homes. Those things do happen to Christians, to all of us.  Why? Why doesn't God save us from those things?

I suggest God wants to - but the problem is, us.

I have said this before and I will say it again, I believe sometimes people don’t get their miracle because God's people refuse to act. We have a fear of scarcity. We have a fear of other people. We are distrustful. What if they’re taking advantage of us? What if they just keep asking and asking and drain us? God says, do not be afraid. Just listen. Just follow. 

Be the miracle someone else is waiting for.

Do it safely, yes. Do it in a way that's smart, yes.

But if God is calling you to help someone, listen. We will be judged for what we do, but also for what we don't do.

God puts people in front of us all the time. People whom He loves infinitely. Whom He knows intimately. Whom He wants to feel His touch and experience His grace.

Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggeman says, "Divine purpose requires human action." God wants to act. He wants to intervene. He wants to bring miracles in the world.

But He's waiting for you. He's waiting for me. He's waiting for us.

Be the miracle someone else is waiting for today.