It seems that there are homeless folks just about everywhere in the Northeast. Because we see them so frequently it is easy to ignore them. They can become part of the landscape. We take a quick glance at them, read their sign and scurry away. Some of us stop to talk with them but most do not acknowledge them at all.
I have wondered why the homeless are so blatantly ignored. If they really are as desperate as their sign says you'd think that perhaps one person out of the 20,000 that pass them by in a day might have compassion and help them. But at best the homeless get some coins and occasional bills.
The real problem, in my opinion, is that most of us don't trust the homeless. We suspect the story on their sign is a lie. We cynically view the homeless as a sort of con artist. We figure the homeless person probably shouldn't be homeless and are simply too lazy to find a job. Or we assume they are someone else's problem.
I could list other aspects that complicate helping the homeless but what I want to confess is that it doesn't feel right to ignore them. It doesn't seem like something Jesus would do. And it doesn't even feel human. Maybe we should start by giving them our time and just listen to their story? I understand that giving money is not wise since many will spend it on life-controlling substances. But giving them our ear is to give them dignity. Maybe what the homeless need more than anything is to be treated as people who are wonderfully made by the Creator? We can do that. - Scott A