Who Do We Serve

Who Do We Serve?

I recently encountered opposition from a clergy friend over helping a known drug addict. This struggling soul came to me for food, and I gladly gave him supplies from the church food pantry. My wayward friend also needed clothes. I had nothing in his size, so I contacted a neighboring church and asked for help. I was sadly turned away, because the man I was helping has been known to panhandle in the community.

“But if someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won't help him--how can God's love be within him?” 1 John 3:17

Anyone who knows me probably thinks this is the part of the article where I complain about the utter hypocrisy of a “Christian” church refusing to help the poor. To be sure, when this incident first happened three weeks ago, I was very angry. In the spirit of ecumenical partnership, however, I refrained from telling this neighboring church pastor (of a non-UCC church) what I thought of his refusal to help someone in need.

“Anyone who oppresses the poor is insulting God who made them. To help the poor is to honor God.” Proverbs 14:31

After having had some time to reflect, I realized the real problem is more than a simple refusal to help. This pastor is not a bad man. His church helps many families and holds several large outreach events each year. Indeed, in this pastor’s church, nothing is planned without his approval. This proves that the spirit of caring for the less fortunate is definitely within the soul of this man. Yet, he still refused to help. Why?

As an outreach coordinator, I have watched our resources shrink significantly. In this stagnant economy, it is simply hard to find resources to help the people we serve. I believe, therefore, that what I really witnessed several weeks ago in that church pastor’s refusal to help had less to do with refusing to dispense and more to do with seeking to preserve the resources that he had. He still wants to help, but he has now come to the conclusion that he needs to decide who is most deserving of his church’s resources. Surely, a struggling widow working two jobs to make ends meet is more deserving than an unemployed drug addicted. Right?

Friends, this kind of thinking is such a slippery slope. Do we really have the option to choose whom we help? The Bible contains more than three hundred verses on the poor, social justice, and God's deep concern for both. In not one of these verses does God give us a means to measure the validity of a person’s cry for help. I believe that no such criterion is provided because it is not our responsibility to judge the merit of another’s need. During this Christmas season, many will flock to our churches seeking our help. If we have the resources that they need, it is our Christian duty to give them freely. It is not our job to judge the lives of those who ask for our help, but it is our calling to show them the gracious love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16