Sheep vs Goats
By Jonathan - Posted on August 16th, 2007
Tagged: service
The other day I reading the following in Matthew 25:
I need to change.
31 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35' For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39' When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' 41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' 44 "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' 45 "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Reflecting on these verses, I asked myself the question: "How often in the recent past have I done any of these things...fed the hungry and thirsty, took in a stranger, clothed the naked? How often in my life? Of course, I've done these things, but is my life characterized by such? No. Are these the things I'm teaching my kids to do? No.
I need to change.
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I saw a homeless man while driving from lunch. I did not stop. Not good. . .
what do you think you should've done? i'm not sure it would be a meaningful alternative to walk up to him and offer him... what?
this is a real question - i'm not making fun of you. is there anything that you can reasonably do? i personally would answer no, but i'm ready to be converted
Simply ask him if he needs help, food, clothing, money, or shelter. Primarily, I would seek to offer him a sense of dignity by treating him as a human being.
I recall one story by Fr. Riccardo (St. Anastasia, Detroit). He was in D.C. and came across a homeless man but had no money to offer. He apologized for not having anything to offer but asked the man's name. By the look on his face noone had asked his name or called him by his own name for a very long time. Fr. Riccardo offered to pray for the man and needed his name to do so. Perhaps the first step with the homeless is to remind them of their dignity as human beings.
...assuming he says: "yes, i need a roof over my head". so, here comes the point where i dare not kid myself: would i say: "sure, come on home, my wife's going to be delighted to have an extra lodger?"
the small goods (food, clothes, ...) are easy to provide, but a home?
This is an option. Midland County (www.mihomeless.org)
The Open Door (we drive by this place every morning)
412 W. Buttles St.
Midland, MI 48640-
(989) 835-2291 Fax
that was not really what i asked - i know that there's places homeless people can go and get help. technically, we give money and food to the church so they can get help there, or so i thought.
what i wanted to know was how you specifically approach that homeless man, right there when you see him, on the road or the sidewalk. i'm curious. i drove by a homeless guy with a his belongings in a shopping cart on the way home on eastman. what should i have done?
this promises to be a good thread. let me propose this:
we are maybe not directly exposed to thirsty, naked, homeless etc people, but we are aware of their existence. we give from our surplus to charitable organizations who redistribute our wealth to those who are needy. i don't think the lord cares one way or the other how the food gets into other people's mouths, or who owns the hands that put the clothes on them. i think i probably do more good to society by making money that feeds the poor, than by taking time off work and feeding them with my own hands.
we do these things indirectly. which is ok, i believe.
a couple years ago i went through a bit of a crisis, being dissatisfied with my old job, and feeling i wasn't doing enough for the world in general, and for the needy in particular. so i spoke to two priests. one, the erstwhile boss of "caritas internationalis"-austria branch. the other, our parish priest. the first i asked whether it was a good idea to change jobs and go work for a charity. the other i asked what i needed to do if i felt that i wasn't doing anything of value in my job. the advice they gave was like this: first, working for a charity is pretty much like (or worse) working for a regular company. the same bullshit goes on there that goes on everywhere else where humans work together. second, even if people like me work only as small gears within huge gearboxes, they still contribute to the maintenance of society, and are thus working for the greater good (unless they are in some destructive job, which i'm not). so, working in some job that doesn't directly impact the world at large isn't necessarily uncharitable or worthless, but can be good stewardship of my gifts if i do it right.
so, i settled on this: while we make good money let's use it o help those who're poor. when my usefulness in my present job has worn off (like, the kids are out of the house, or i get fired, etc), then i can devote my hands' work to helping the poor. but until then, my best option for using god's gifts to me is to tread the mill and fork the proceeds over to charities. i don't know whether i'm doing a good enough job of it (probably not), but i'm trying.
other opinions?
I'm where you are at. I have also tried to add an element of evangelization to my life. I do this mostly by asking questions and if religion comes up then I might have a chance to explain the faith. It happens more often than I expect and am having a great time explaining the faith.
As for charity, I'm really liking the Smile Train.
Clefts are a major problem in developing countries where there are millions of children who are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat or speak properly. Aren’t allowed to attend school or hold a job. And face very difficult lives filled with shame and isolation, pain and heartache.
The good news is every single child with a cleft can be helped with surgery that costs as little as $250 and takes as little as 45 minutes.
This is our mission:
-To provide free cleft surgery for millions of poor children in developing countries.
-To provide free cleft-related training for doctors and medical professionals.
www.smiletrain.org
Yep, I generally share that same perspective...and use giving some of what I earn to church and charity as my main method of doing these things. But I'm not satisfied with just that. I've seen the same guy with the shopping cart several times recently. Once was when I was getting gas. I thought about walking over and starting a conversation, but didn't. Next time I will. I think I should act when I see someone in need (echoing what Joey said...likely with both physical and non-physical needs)...the fact that I've given money this week is not necessarily too helpful for him right then and there. I also suspect that there are many more people that are willing to give money than willing to give time and "get their hands dirty". I think there is probably a big need to do more than just give. I also think that it would beneficial to me and my perspective etc. to interact with people with real problems and needs. I also think it can be a good lesson for the kids.
Here's an example. Yesterday we were sitting at a stoplight at the end of a highway exit ramp where a guy was holding a sign saying he was stranded and needed some money. My first urge was to look away from him. Lisa, who was driving, asked if I wanted to give him something. I said sure. I pulled out a $5 bill and Lisa handed it to him. Usually, I don't just hand out money but instead try to buy a person some food or whatever, but this occasion handing the money seemed to be the best option. As we sat longer at the stoplight, I noticed that Elliot was watching the man. We went on to Burger King. While in the restaurant, Elliot said something like "When we pass that man again, I want to give him $10." (Elliot has brought his wallet on the trip including the ~$100 of several years of birthday money that he has been saving and wants to spend on a Gameboy). Both Lisa and Elliot teared up at the time (and I am doing so right now). I'm really glad that we chose to give to that man and that Elliot got to see us do it.
i've waffled on this for a long time. here's the predicament: when i give a small amount to a -let's say - homeless guy on the street, i feel part good, part bad. good, because i've to some extent done what i know is good - helping the poor. on the other hand, i'm afraid for my money. who prevents the guy from buying cigarettes or get hammered out of his skull with my money? furthermore, it always feels like a drop of water on a hot stone - it will barely sustain him through the day, and it will most likely not improve his long-term prospects.
thinking about the same question today, i took up joey's advice on dropping in on the "open door" shelter. after talking to the guys there, i was kind of amazed that there are still people pushing shopping carts in midland. the open door provides everything from food to clothes to shelter - free, 500 yards from where i saw him pushing his cart. so, why's the guy still pushing a shopping cart?
here's my reply and question to the forum: being a cautious guy, i am hesitant to hand out money to strangers. helping them with material goods is different (food, shelter, help in times of sickness, whatever) because it cannot be abused, or less easily so. i am fully onboard when it comes to giving time and money to more centralized efforts (open door). however, is it prudent to simply give people money directly, or is it better to give money (and help) to people like the open door? or do we have to do both?
opinions? thanks
Looked at the smile train. no doubt, a worthy cause. reading the page, i wondered: how do we prioritize among the worthy causes? there's legions of more or less specialized charities out there, each one targeting a different problem. do we scatter our money to as many charities as possible, or do we focus and drill deep? the smile train is what i'd call ultra-specialized - it focuses on one specific malady. st jude's is somewhat less specialized - sick children. CRS would be totally general - everybody who's in need.
I'm just reading Sider's book ("rich christians in an age of hunger"), and he's neither the communist that detractors paint him as, nor is he a failed revolutionary. he clings close to the gospel, and he is extremely convincing: we're failing to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, etc.
but how to apportion? any recipes? opinions?
i read more of sider's book now, and when it comes to the tithing method he advocates (you pay 10% on salary up to the poverty line (like 20K/year for us, plus necessary expenses such as schools, and an exponential tithe with a large prefactor on everything beyond), i lose sphincter control.
in fact, i'm trying to talk to our parish priest now, to figure out whether Sider is a raving maniac or a saint..., because, folks, according to him guys like us need to pay like a 50,000 dollar tithe a year. i think i better get a divorce lawyer soon, because i don't think i can persuade my wife to live on a salary just above poverty line :-(
Peter,
I can't help but come to the conclusion that you are doing exactly what you should be doing. . .
Phillippians 2:12-15 (re: Obedience and Service in the World)
So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
For God is the one who, for his good purpose works in you both to desire and to work. Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, . . .
[emphasis mine]
Please, keep working on your giving strategy.
Allow me one mystical comment - I know you grumble when I do this but here it is :
Reading from mutliple sources and many different examples I see that those who have temporarily died and have heard their judgement but have then, for a variety of reasons, returned to life have always changed their lives dramatically. Typically, they choose more austere, penitential, and poor (posessionless) lives. This is a very common theme among christians who have been given a second chance, again, after having heard their judgement.
My conclusion is very simple minded - this is a gift and a warning - it is really up to us to decide to listen.
Joey - i hope that your first sentence didn't refer to my last sentence
otherwise: i hope i am (doing what i should be doing). still working on it. i'll keep you guys posted on what/how i am doing. apropos: reading a new book now 'neither poverty nor riches, a biblical theology of possessions'. much like sider's, but a bit less 'granola james bond' like. we'll see...
also: remember that jesus said: do NOT fear. i think a lot of englisch speaking people are put down by the fact that english doesn't have a word like the german "ehrfurcht" (which means deep respect, awe, before a power far greater than us, at whose disposal we are-utterly), which is quite different from "furcht" (fear), which denotes "being afraid". i am frankly worried by your emphasis on "furcht" as opposed to "ehrfurcht". in my book, fear is BAD. persisting in it is a sin against hope and faith. that's why i always grumble when you cite "hell theology". i don't know greek, so i can't say what Paul's emphasis was, though "ehrfurcht" seems intuitively more appropriate than "furcht".
opinions?
Fear is not BAD but rather imperfect.
Recall that contrition for sinfulness has two levels: imperfect and perfect. Some people may live and persist in a state of imperfect contrition. Persisting in imperfect contrition is not a sin against hope and faith but rather just a stage along the pathway to holiness.
Imperfect contrition is to be sorry for one's sins because of the fear of Hell. Perfect contrition is to be sorry for sin because of what it does to our relatioinship with God. Some people have yet to be so devoted so as to realize the effect of sin on this relationship. Others, like myself, live between these two realizations.
Part of this may derive from my own experience with what I call "raw evil". . . the kind of experience that makes a grown man squeal like a little girl.
I do like ehrfurcht but the word still seems to be a bit on the side of imperfect contrition. What is the German word that describes this notion of perfect contrition?
forged my way through part of blomberg's "neither poverty nor riches". very interesting explanation of biblical materials and their proper interpretation as applied to today's world. better than sider for me - less ideology, more theology
should be good reading material for either of you.
Capitalism and the Danger of Greed: link
I am reminded of an MBA program supported by the UN at an Ivy League school. The story went something like the MBA had to do time in a run-down hotel in the third world.
The results were remarkable. Without the expression of greed, wealth can be created just by improving the way you do things.
I'm not advocating that we apply 6-sigma to the world's problems - but the idea has some merit.
As MK will readily tell you, there are many managers who can't find their way out of a paper bag or are otherwise involved in "context free" management.
So, I'm not so strong as Boyd that this is all greed -- alot of it is brains and the freedom to act are important too. And, guess what happens when Americans stop buying all the crap they buy - the world experiences an economic ice age. So, there is a bit of a catch-22 if we all become austere.
What IS the way out of this money sucking drain I'm in?
js
to your last question, the answer is easy:
give the money you would use to buy useless shit to people who need it for essentials. they'll use it to buy useful stuff. thus, the economy goes on, and you have clean hands
pmm