Feeding The Homeless and Needy

It is that time of the year when thoughts, for many of us, turn to those in need.  The time was when I threw a few cans in the food bank box, a few dollars in the Salvation Army kettle, and called that my annual Christmas treat.  Then I went downtown and helped feed the truly needy - the homeless.

One can find many reasons not to support feeding "deadbeats" on the street.  My favorite was always, "God helps those that help themselves."  For the most part this is true, and one is justified in taking that stand.  There are those that leech off of society, sucking the life blood of those that work hard for a living.  Those that consider welfare a way of life are considered to be unworthy of a second glance, much less a first.  I will not argue this, except to say that many of the homeless are physically or mentally incapable of work; the "abandoned" of society.  As for the rest, you cannot save the poor from their lot, only they can.  The truly poor, that is trying to better their lot, should be policing themselves and crying foul on those that abuse the system.  The leeches not only steal money from the "haves" but from the "have nots" as well.

The biggest losers in all of this, whether the family is struggling or leaching, are the children.  There are three possible futures for them; they grow up to leach off of society like the parents, they never catch a break and continue to struggle for anything better in life, or they grow up with the knowledge and desire to be more than they left behind.  There is nothing to be done for the people that leach except to offer them no alternative than work.  Those that can't catch a break need an avenue to find the break, much less catch it.  Until a child grasps the opportunities, knowledge, and desire, to be more than they left behind, they are still children and the most vulnerable of our society.

How do we, as a society, break this cycle of poverty and homelessness?  For all but the leech, this is a simple answer.  JOBS!  We need to create a vibrant job market and quit sending everything overseas.  We need to train those that want to break free of poverty and offer incentives to companies that offer training and placement as well as penalties for those that outsource overseas.  We need to take away incentives for welfare.  If you aren't working, you get no assistance.  If you are handicapped, you can mentor, assist in a soup kitchen and volunteer (believe it or not, this is work!).  Most importantly, if have a child you cannot afford to support without subsistence, it is tantamount to child abuse. You are abusing this child and any other that this new child will take away from in order to survive your stupidity. 

Regardless of what we do, there may always be poor struggling to survive.  Even if we provide jobs and assistance for all, there will be those that will prefer to live on the fringes of society.  We have attempted the great experiment of trying to provide "the world's highest standard of living."  For the most part we have failed, and history continues to repeat itself as a way of rubbing our noses in it.  History is that annoyingly tacky buzzer with a red flashing sign proclaiming "LOSER" whenever the subject of jobs, the poor, or the homeless rears their ugly heads.

Our governments leave us little recourse than to try and do what we can.  Government, religious and social organizations can only do so much due to rules and regulations laid down by, you guessed it, governments.  Some hypocritical Christian soup kitchens do not welcome "all" to the table, and others demand you sit through their relentless pounding of the scripture as payment for the lifesaving meal.  

I have personally talked to many homeless that have forsaken missions and other soup kitchen venues preferring to go hungry than to be hammered with faith they feel has forsaken them, or have their "paid for" criminal records continue to be held against them.  One has to ask, where the forgiveness, love, and tender understanding come into play.  What would Jesus do?  It strikes me as odd how  Christianity always seems to be the first to deny Christ.  There are those whose only friend is their faithful pet, ever at their side, enduring the hardship along with their master.  These homeless cannot bring their furry friend into the shelter or soup kitchen so, not wanting to risk leaving them outside, they opt to do without or find other means of obtaining sustenance.  Many of these folks showed up to the outdoor kitchen I was a part of.  The outdoors was cold and wet, but it was friendly to all and asked only that garbage was policed and peace was maintained.  None of this was ever an issue, however.

From the beginning of civilization there have been soup kitchens; a need to feed and do for the weaker of us.  At some time prior, an alpha male must have made a human decision that would define civilization from that day forward.  The decision was made not to abandon the orphaned, injured, or weak to their own devices; maybe it was better for the group to go beyond just the physical protection of the group from predators, to show compassion, preserve the core knowledge possessed by those individuals; maybe there was busy work to be done that would free up the stronger of the group and thus ensure the survival of all.  Civilization was born of humanity and the necessity for survival.  The only way we survive is through our humanity.  People that have much tend to forget this, as do those that leech off of them.  It takes all of us to make this work, from the mentally handicapped sweeping a walk or bussing dishes, to the CEO of a large company with the moral responsibility of assisting government to find new jobs for the masses.

This is the time of year when I religiously read my favorite seasonal book, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens (at least when I haven't lost my only copy while moving).  I identify with Scrooge in so many ways, as should most of us I would think.  My early opinion of the majority of the poor that leech off of society was reflected in Scrooge's comment, "If they'd rather die, then they had better do it and decrease the surplus population."  I softened on this when it came to the helplessness of children caught up in an adult world of pervasive welfare as an excuse for not bringing anything of value to the society that gives them everything.  One of my favorite scenes in the book is between Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present:

"'Forgive me if I am not justified in what I ask,' said Scrooge, looking intently at the Spirit's robe,' but I see something strange, and not belonging to yourself, protruding from your skirts. Is it a foot or a claw.' 

  'It might be a claw, for the flesh there is upon it,' was the Spirit's sorrowful reply. 'Look here.'

  From the foldings of its robe, it brought two children; wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable. They knelt down at its feet, and clung upon the outside of its garment.

  'Oh, Man. look here. Look, look, down here.' exclaimed the Ghost.

  They were a boy and a girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate, too, in their humility. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds. Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing. No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread.

  Scrooge started back, appalled. Having them shown to him in this way, he tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves, rather than be parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude.

  'Spirit. are they yours.' Scrooge could say no more.

  'They are Man's,' said the Spirit, looking down upon them. 'And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it.' cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. 'Slander those who tell it ye. Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. And abide the end.' 

  'Have they no refuge or resource.' cried Scrooge.

  'Are there no prisons.' said the Spirit, turning on him
for the last time with his own words. 'Are there no workhouses.'"

   - A Christmas Carol, Stave 3: The Second of the Three Spirits

I will find myself working and providing for  soup kitchen again this holiday season, now that I have found one in need.  I also have plans to continue this throughout the year, as I can.  When I first fed the homeless I went there with many preconceptions.  When I left after the first day, those preconceptions had changed.  Many were valid, but quite a few were proved faulty.  Families living in cars because of losing their home due to factory layoffs and other reasons, more to do with our countries inability to stay as great as we once were, than people not looking for work.  

We no longer let a "vagrant" sweep out walks or clean our windows for a few dollars for fear of being sued if they injure themselves.  Most homeless won't be considered for a job because they have no "permanent" address to offer.  We need to look at these basic issues and let us get back to the days of yesteryear when we could offer a few simple tasks around the house or shop without fear of lawsuits.  We need to allow people the opportunity to provide an opportunity for those less fortunate that have a willingness and desire to better their lot.

What does it benefit a contractor to give a man a shot?  Let him show his worth, park his vehicle on the jobsite and also act as night watchman.  Pay him a few bucks for the first day's work so he can eat and feed his family.  Maybe pay him after the first week as well, so he can get on his feet a bit.  What does it hurt to bend the ruled a bit in the name of charity for those that want to do better?  Maybe we get a loyal employee.  Maybe we get a productive member of society.  Maybe we give a man, or woman, back their pride.  But if these people are not fed an occasional nutritious meal, if there are none of us willing to help those that truly want to help themselves, how do we expect them to be physically prepared for the work they seek when the opportunity is presented?  

This recent election a black man in Chicago put it best.  He voiced the concern that government was too intent on raising the minimum wage for jobs that didn't exist, than creating jobs they needed in order for the people to continue to exist.  

He has a point.

For those interested in my past postings dealing with feeding the homeless and giving thanks, I have included the following links:

The Path: Joyful Hands!!

The Path: Feeding the Homeless in Olympia

The Path: Sunday Thought - November 3, 2013: Thanksgiving

The Path: Another Homeless Breakfast

The Path: Why I Am Thankful

The Path: Hungry & Homeless in Olympia

The Path: Sermon for Sunday - January 26, 2014: Thoughts on the Poor

The Path: Surprisingly Homeless: Mary in Olympia

The Path: Sermon for Sunday - February 23, 2014: Homeless in Olympia (Part Whatever)


Note from Pastor Tony, the founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance, as well as the author and editor of "The Path," the Congregation's official blogsite:  

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion.  It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other.  An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth.  After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human.  God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.
  

Frank Anthony Villari, Pastor