Before the race I viewed homeless people as invisible. If I’m being honest, I pretended like they weren’t there.
I always thought they could possibly hurt me or “use my money to feed their addiction”
But who am I to say that they aren’t worth it.
Yah they may use that money to go buy alcohol or drugs but once the money I give them is isn’t their hands it’s on them to figure out what to do with it.
The other night I was having one last dinner with Team Hesed and a beggar came up to our table asking to buy books. At first I was a little confused on how to assess the situation and if it was a scam or not. He handed us this paper that said who he was, what he needed money for (rent/bills) and selling the books helps him financially support his family. We all looked at the books and a few of us bought some. We were talking with him about New York City and Chicago and I felt the urge to ask him to sit with us.
So I did, I asked him if he was hungry and if he wanted to eat dinner with us. He sat at the head of the table and dined with us for the evening. And though all of the employees of the restaurant were glaring at us we showed him the love of Jesus by engaging in conversation about his life and family, he told us how old his children are and how smart they are, he told us how he was 5 years old when the Khmer Rouge happened, and he also told us he believed in Jesus.
At the end of our meal we prayed for him and his family. It was one of those moments where I know the Lord was beaming with joy that we are finally getting it:
Jesus told us to give, not think about whether they’re worth the 5 extra dollars you had in your wallet. He dined with the beggars and drug addicts, hes asking us to do the same, to love the unloved, to engage in conversation and give people a taste of the life and love of Jesus.
