I wonder what it is to engage the downest of the down, the outest of the out, the scummest of the scum, the rejectedest of the rejected. The people who are drowning in the washing machine of despairing situations with an endless supply of quarters to keep it going. I know how easy it is to see missions as disaster-relief but to go beyond that, to bring an end to and relieve for good the disaster, well that takes more than a short-term mission trip, huh? It's easy enough to alleviate a stomach aching for food for a moment, but I think about how said stomach will need something more in just a few hours. Then once again in another meridian-to-horizon passage of the sun. The next time we meet, will the person be any closer to overcoming the despair of his stinky, toothless self enough to no longer be a black hole of others' pity? Will he even be so changed as to begin seeking how to care for and be a blessing to others?
Here's a bit of my history: I go out to Fry St. from time to time looking for some down and outers. Troy, Mark, Billy, Jay. I've given them money, Subway gift cards, and prayed over them, but something is perpetuated that overrules their desires/ability to change. They don't like living on the street so much, but there is enough ______________ to keep them there.
What is that?
What is in that ___________ and how does Jesus answer it? I figure discipleship plays a large roll in addressing the _____________, "Teaching them to observe all that I've commanded." So then, my missional mindset isn't so much relieving disasters in their stomach and calling it a win as much as it is walking with these guys on a consistent basis that they might begin to rise above the poverty of the circumstance and address the poverty in their hearts. Think about how even we engage ourselves in our own moments of poverty, we bring relief and the scriptures. My buddy is struggling? we get some coffee (I'll pay). He gets a listening ear, but I also encourage and exhort him in what the Word of God says - not in a jerk-ish kinda way, slapping him across the face with truth, but in gentle exhortation, believing in the power of the Word, not my own application of it towards him.
Is that the right perspective on these things?
I think about a guy in Guatemala who obeyed the voice of the Holy Spirit leading him into a building of crack heads to share the Gospel. That's an entrenchment in the enemy's camps that is so deep that simply giving a sip of cool water won't stand a chance to create holiness in a dude's heart. But maybe that's the whole key and point: It is only the vocal command of Jesus spoken at a person's imprisoned heart that breaks these cycles, spills open the front door of the washing machine into breaths of fresh air and life to these victims. And as the HS works, we walk with them.
Sometimes I feel so smart just because I have questions. But then I feel really dumb when I find that I'm not the only one to have them, and I'm actually more lazy about getting them answered with actions involved. I'm learning.
For the Record: I still think it's always worth doing disaster relief whether or not you have a the time to follow up with that person. BUT even that opinion I hold with an open hand.
