Because God Says So!

A few years ago I was walking in Minneapolis with some friends. As we walked, we passed a homeless man who was asking for spare change. While most of us looked away and ignored him, one of my friends walked over and gave him some money. I think her act of kindness touched our hearts and also taught us a valuable lesson. God wants us to help others, not walk by them.

I can only speak for myself when I say I was humbled by that experience. In the past I have walked or driven past people who ask for money. It’s not that I don’t care about them, it’s more that I don’t care enough to do anything to help them. My heart would feel bad for them, that they had no place to live and that they were surviving on spare change. My hands, however, did not bear any of the fruit from my heart.

When I graduated from college I worked in the city and saw people asking for money every day. I became callous to their needs. I began to justify the fact that I walked right past them by telling myself these people with their tin cans or guitars looked perfectly capable of getting a job. Maybe they were just lazy. They probably didn’t make good use of their money while they had it, so why should I be responsible to help them out of their crisis?

Why? Because God says so!

Psalm 41:1 says, “Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.” My study Bible says that God wants our generosity to reflect His own free giving. As He has blessed us, we should bless others. Now that’s something to wrap my little brain around! He has given me so many earthly blessings and on top of that I have the promise of eternal life with Him. With that in mind, I feel humbled when I think of how many needy people I’ve walked by in my life.

This weekend my husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary in downtown Minneapolis. We took a little time to “people watch” after dinner. I may seem like a redneck for even saying this, but I have to admit it was fun to sit and watch all the “city folk” and see the diversity of people enjoying the city that evening. As we sat on a bench, a homeless man came up to us and asked us for a quarter. At first we said we didn’t have a quarter, but as he walked away I felt the Holy Spirit convicting me.

I quickly decided that it was time I stop feeling bad for people in need and actually do something about it. I called to him, “Sir!” As he turned around, I reached into my purse to find some money. It was only a couple of dollars, but he seemed grateful. I realized that it didn’t matter why he was homeless or how he got to that place in life. What matters is that God wants us to have regard for the weak and needy.

Prayer: Lord, help me to not only see the needs of others around me, but to do something about their needs! Please show me how I can help someone today.

Scripture: Psalm 41