Poor Choice People

Friday, July 9, In the year of our Lord 2010
Distance Learning Office, Caronport Saskatchewan
Composing Thoughts in Front of Computer, 4:02 PM
Weather = Hot and Sunny

Call me sheltered, but I haven’t lived in a place where you normally see people living on the street. Small town Saskatchewan isn’t really the same as inner-city anywhere. I have since ran into several homeless people in Moose Jaw and I found myself at a loss to know what to do. My first instinct was to avoid them. But then I thought maybe they’re hungry. I contemplated giving them money. But what would they do with the money that I gave them? These were new questions for me as I became acquainted with a world that I had never truly met before.

I saw a lady who seemed to be picking pennies out of cracks in the side walk. She had a hideously misshapen figure that could have only happened by years of unhealthy diet. Her pants were about 5 sizes too small, unable to contain her. I thought to myself, “How does anyone get to this point and stay there? How can someone live so poorly when there are so many social safety nets in this country?” The answer, I believe, is in our choices.

There are people in the world who constantly choose bad choices. I think most people fall into this category in one way or another. Some people choose to be unemployed, choose to sleep around, choose to lie and steal from those who trust them, choose to burn bridges, and choose to not accept help from anyone. I don’t think that this is the situation of all poor people, but it is amazing to look back and see how a person’s previous choices have consequences on the present and the future.

So what can you do for someone who needs help, maybe even asks and begs for help, but refuses to be helped? I don’t know what you can do for them! If they’ve burnt the rehab programs several times and hurt their family so much that they have completely cut off any connection, then what hope do I have of doing anything for them? If you give these sorts of people money, they will buy drugs. If you open up your house, they will steal from you and bring dangerous people over. If you are honest with them, they will be dishonest with you. If you give them advice they will ignore it. You cannot tell if someone is like this until you get to know them so I am not trying to paint a terrible generality onto homeless people, but what do you do when you find someone like this?

What does God do? God loves these people and demonstrated his love by coming as the man Jesus Christ and paying the penalty for their sins against a Holy and Just God. He was spat upon and ridiculed during his execution and is still spat upon and ridiculed by the very people he died for 2000 years ago. There is always hope for bad choice people because Jesus was raised from the dead and the power of Christ in a life raises them from spiritual death now and physical death at the end of time.

God gives bad choice people a life to continue making choices. Sometimes he intervenes, but mostly he allows us to make our choices and live by the consequences of those choices. I think that as Christians we should mimic this sort of approach. Love unconditionally, intervene when the Holy Spirit tells you to, but mostly allow them to make their own choices and live by the consequences of those choices. This is hard, especially if we are close to the ones making the poor choices. But think about how painful it is for God, who loves all people to the point of dying for them, who placed a piece of himself into each and every person, who can do anything.

Sometimes we are caught by the incredible pain of watching someone we care for constantly make poor choices, knowing that it doesn’t have to be this way. I believe that this is part of the Dia Volorosa, the Road of Suffering that Christ walks. These are painful steps in our walk with Christ, but it is necessary that God reveal this part of himself to us if we are to love and obey him in a closer and deeper way. Do not hide from the pain, because it is real and must be dealt with. Trust in Christ who weeps with you and gives you the strength and wisdom to continue on. Draw near to the Lord, and join your soul with His in prayer for what has grieved you both. Trust that he has heard your prayer, be still, and know that He is God.

That is what you can do for poor choice people.