Who are the Needy?

Sorry ole' buddy...you don't know the poor as good as you think you do....that's what God has been telling me recently.

I rented an apartment from some friends the first several years that I taught school. Schedules and structure were unimportant in those days, but they were good days...days that were often kick started on toasted pop tarts and sparkling grape juice (I lived 30 ft from a bulk food store that kept sparkling grape juice on hand).

I lesson prepped at odd times of the day, jogged in the mountains and the streets of Shippensburg, sat above the turnpike tunnels (you wouldn't believe how bad the car exhaust smells right above the tunnels), read in coffee shops, and taught school during the day.

God seemed to use my unstructured lifestyle to bring me face to face with the needy. I got into some weird situations to say the least. One night I found an old man up in the mountains that had a stroke. He had been there for about 14 hrs, and wasn't doing so hot. Another night I rushed up on four guys in the middle of a drug deal on a back road. One of them made a half hearted attempt at grabbing me...he missed and there was a general diaspora. There are other stories like the unusual exchange I had with a character at the laundromat, and some intriguing conversations/relationships at the local basketball court. I felt like I was getting to know these people....

When I moved home, I moved back into the protection of a structured lifestyle...partitioned off from the needy. I try to combat this by picking people up by the road from time to time. I know its a bit dangerous in our day, but I don't have a family relying on me so....

I don't know how many people I've picked up in the last two years, but they all have their own story. Sometimes the pack of lies begins right away other times the stories seem sincere. Most recently I picked up a man that had just got out of prison. He was trying to walk 30 miles to his mom's house because she doesn't drive. He was trudgeing along in 15 degree weather with no coat...25 miles to go.

After hearing his reasoning, I realized that I just couldn't identify with his logic. A herd of thundering Bison couldn't induce me to start a 30 mi trek in his condition...the thought wouldn't even enter my mind.

That's when I realized how worldly I still am. I think like the world...I don't know people like Jesus knows them...I don't understand them like Jesus understands them. I confess this worldliness and repent of it. I am slowly coming to recognize that I am the needy. God brings the poor into my life...they are poking me...prodding me...being patient with me...sometimes spanking me...showing me what Jesus looks like....