I am reminded of the story of a man who survived an airplane crash over the pacific. Swimming in the waters, he comes to the realization that he is the only survivor. He spots a small island off in the distance and swims safely to the shore. As a good Christian man, he gives thanks to the Lord for his life and for forming an island to which he could find shelter after this tragedy. He also prays for his rescue. After which, he begins the process of setting up a camp. He builds himself some shelter, sets traps for food and lights a fire.
The next day, he spots a luxurious cruise ship anchored off shore. Coming from the ship is a party of the ships staff on a life boat. The people from the boat call out to the marooned man:
“Ahoy, we spotted your fire from a far. Knowing these islands are uninhabited, we thought you might be in need of assistance. We have a luxurious suite available and it is yours until we reach port. At which point, you can make further arrangements to get home. If you need to be taken further then the next port, you are more then welcome to stay with us at no cost to you.”
To which the man replied. “Good sirs, thank you for your generosity. Alas, I am a good Christian man and I believe that God will rescue me from my current predicament. So I say again, thank you and I bid you bon voyage.” And with that, the men returned to their ship and carried on without the stranded man.
The next day, an aircraft carrier was anchored of shore. A helicopter was hovering above his shelter. A navy seal had just rappelled from the helicopter and was standing in front of him.
“Sir, we spotted your fire from a far. Knowing these islands are uninhabited, we thought you might be in need of assistance. Sir, we have a suite available and it is yours until we reach port. At which point, you can make further arrangements to get home. If you need to be taken further then the next port, you are more then welcome to stay with us and enjoy our hospitality.”
To which the man replied. “Good sirs, thank you for your generosity. Alas, I am a good Christian man and I believe that God will rescue me from my current predicament. So I say again, thank you and I bid you bon voyage.” And with that, the men returned to their ship and carried on without the stranded man.
The next day, the man awoke to two dolphins making a ruckus just off shore. The man went to shoo them away. He waded into the water and approached the frolicking dolphins, they began to speak to him.
“O human, we spotted your fire from a far. Knowing these islands are uninhabited, we thought you might be in need of assistance. We have no suite or luxuries to offer but we can carry you on our backs and swim great distances without tiring. Name the place you want to go and we will take you there.”
At this point, the man thought he was hallucinating and told the dolphins. “You can not speak English, you are dolphins. Truly, I must be hallucinating. I am a Godly man and I faith that God will save me.”
With that, a shark came by and ate the man up.
The man, finding himself in front of Jesus was rather quite stunned. He questioned Jesus:
“Jesus, you promised me that you would be with me at all times.”
“Yes I did.” Jesus replied.
“Then, where were you when I needed you the most? Why did you not rescue me from that island? Why did you let me get eaten by a shark?”
To which Jesus replied, “I sent my good and faithful servant a luxurious cruise ship that had the best of amenities for you and you also turned away the help of the naval forces. To let you know that I, your Lord, have been concerned and sending you help, I sent dolphins to speak to you. And finally, I sent a shark to bring you home to me.”
Many people who you see at 2am rummaging through McDonalds garbages, or sleeping in the park have choosen to not accept the help of people who Jesus has sent into their lives. There are as many if not more volunteers helping the down trodden then there are down trodden themselves. There is no excuse for a person sleeping on the bench to not be sleeping in a shelter. Even the excuse of there are not enough beds at shelters is mute in that downtown churches open their doors for these people as well. There is always more then enough food at the local "soup kitchen." Downtown restaurants tend to be the largest food donors to inner city support services.
Many of the homeless say that they don't want to lose their dignity by accepting handouts from people and they would rather sleep in the park when it is thirty below.
I am sure that what ever circumstances have occoured to see them forced on the street are, or were, beyond their control. But staying there is totally their decision.
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I thought about it, u haven't been downtown at 2 in the morning, and seeing people sleeping in the cold, and eating from scraps they found in dumpsters.
Have u worked at McDonalds and had people look through the garbage for used cups that they can use for refills.
What does Mr. Social conscience Joseph do when he see's people living like this?