"if you get the man right, you get the world right"

December 18, 2004

last thursday, i encountered a most unusual sight. as i was heading down to futureshop (the location at warden and hwy. 7) to return something, i saw a man standing in the middle of the parking lot (on the curb). he was holding a sign saying he had three kids, he had no food and that he would work for food. cars and pedestrians zipped by him without ever once stopping to offer help. in the 14 years that i've lived in the GTA, i have never seen something like this. i parked my car and headed into futureshop, still thinking about the poor gentleman who was standing in the cold: what was his story? was he part of the working poor? was his rent too high that he couldn't afford to pay for food for his children? what kind of work was he looking for? was he unemployed? was he a scammer? why wasn't anyone helping him? how could people go into a store like futureshop and buy things and not offer assistance to this poor gentleman? how could so many people drive by him and even WALK right by him and not offer help? why are our hearts so cold?

i walked around futureshop aimlessly after returning my product; i was stalling. i wasn't sure what to do. i was thinking about all the things that i've learnt over the past few months about social justice, specifically the working poor. could one person make a difference? would it really help? would he use my money for food? or would he buy something else like alcohol for himself (yeah, the stereotypes kicked in). i knew it was just a band-aid solution if i gave him money. but, at the same time, i couldn't just stand there and do nothing either. i thought back to a story i've read a million times; it's posted on my fridge at home. it's about a kid who picks up starfish off the beach and throws them back into the ocean. another person approaches him and says there's just too many starfish to make a difference, and all the kid does is smile and say, "it made a difference to that one." i walked out of futureshop, and went right back to my car. i even got into my car and sat there, long debating what i should do. i was really hungry by now and it was cold outside. oh, i shouldn't go walk in the cold i rationalized to myself, it's bad for me since i have fibromyalgia. but i thought back to something louie giglio shared at 7:22, about how if it's in our power to help, then we should do it (derived from the book of psalms). then, i thought about what Jesus said in matthew 25: 34-45 (when Jesus is talking about "whatever you did for one of these brothers of mine, you did for me").

i got back out of the car. i had no idea what i would do or say, but i needed to talk to this guy. i don't really remember what i said, but i asked him if i could help in any way, and he actually declined the first time, being polite. but i persisted and eventually we reached a concensus that i'd go to no frills and get him a gift card so he could do grocery shopping later on that day. yep, i made the trek across the parking lot and went to hook him up. i didn't know how much i should give him either, but i thought back to my limited experiences of grocery shopping for myself (ie. during my internship in vancouver). as an individual, i spent quite a bit of money for myself. i figured, if there's three kids, him, and a potential wife, then there needs to be more money to feed them all. so i gave more money that i 'wanted' to.

i walked back across the parking lot, and happily gave him the cards. i didn't get to say much to him, but that i wish it could have been more. and it wasn't becaues it was just a nice thing to say, i really did mean it. as i was driving home, tears filled my eyes. could i have done more for him?

i stopped off at tim horton's for lunch. it was such a luxury to go there, to sit in the warm environment and eat a hot meal. i couldn't stop thinking about him. i even thought about returning back to the futureshop parking lot and bringing back more stuff for him, but i rationalized that he wouldn't be there anymore.

i've been praying a lot about what my response should be to social justice. my eyes have finally been opened (at least partially) to the reality of the world, the reality of toronto, and it kills me to know the amount of injustice there is. it kills me even more that not much is done about it to rectify this imbalance. i think my prayers were answered this past sunday morning when alfred lam delivered a strong and challenging message about social justice. i was thrilled to hear him speaking about poverty and how Christians should respond (we totally need more of that in the church). he was even throwing out facts about world hunger, education levels, income, etc. it was so right on. it was as if he was just saying everything that was on my heart to our church. i loved it. he started with a story that echoed my heart. basically, there's a dad and his young daughter (like four or five). the dad's trying to read the paper. his daughter wants to play. he rips up a page of the paper with a world map into lots of pieces and gives it to his daughter so he can read the paper for a few hours (so he thinks). about 10 minutes passes, she comes back with the world put perfectly together. to his amazement, he asked her how she did it. after all, it would have taken him much longer to put it together too! she told him there was a picture of a man on the back, and she figured if she got the man right, she'd get the world right. the just of the story is that the world is in broken into many pieces. and if we look at how to put those pieces back together, we''ll just get frustrated and confused. but if we look to the man of Jesus, and we get Him right, then we get the world right. alfred also shared an experience he had with a homeless man. that story brought a lot of us to tears, me included. the presence of God was very evident this past sunday.

wednesday rolls around. i went downtown to watch mamma mia with my parents. i expected to see homeless people on the streets, but i don't think i was prepared for my heart would do. i tried to look down at the ground as i passed them by, because i knew i couldn't help them all. but even if you walk right by them, can you ignore them? if you asked me that question a year ago or even a few months ago, i would have said yes. how can we walk by these children of God and simply not care? how can we walk by these children of God without offering them any assistance when we've been blessed by so many luxuries and conveniences? it's not right. how are we any more entitled to shelter, food, clothing, health care, than they? some of these people on the streets are children, teens, or young adults like you or i and have been trying so hard to make it, but because of circumstances, they're on the streets. my heart breaks for them. i was in tears as i walked by them and watched so many people walk out of roy thompson hall and the princes of wales theatre without stopping to help. i'm in tears writing this. my heart breaks for the social injustice in this city and worldwide.

it's time we stopped talking theology and started really living it.

"depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. for i was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, i was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, i was a stranger and you did not invite me in, i needed clothes and you did not clothe me, i was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “they also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, 'i tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’" - matthew 25: 41-45 [NIV]

Posted by Leo Chan at December 18, 2004 9:24 AM