The least of these

Friday evening, while driving to my sister's house, I passed a man holding a cardboard sign and begging on the street. I did nothing. Saturday afternoon I passed the same man. Still I did nothing. Sunday morning, I saw the same man standing in the rain by the side of the road. A police officer had pulled over and was talking to him. I figured the police officer would probably bring him somewhere, but just in case I decided to ask a friend at church if he would come with me to bring the guy some food or see what else we could do. My friend didn't really understand what I was asking and said he'd talk to me after service. I looked around after church but didn't see my friend so I went ahead and left. I went back to where I had seen the homeless guy and he was no longer there.

So, I'm going to start carrying around some bags of food, water, etc in the car to hand out to people like I did in Dallas. But I want to do more. I'm just not sure what. Leaving someone out in the rain to beg seems so callous, but giving them a ride when I'm by myself is dumb and too risky. Or what about when I see someone but I'm not stopped at the light so I just zoom past. There's a part of me that's relieved that I'm off the hook from helping the person or having to avoid eye contact so I don't feel guilty for doing nothing. But am I really off the hook?

I understand that some people could be con artists. I don't want to give anyone money because I don't like the possiblity of it being used for cigarettes, drugs, etc. However, the people I see are still human beings and deserve to be treated with love and dignity.

Jeremy said in church in a while back (and I'm sure he was quoting someone else whose name I couldn't write down quickly enough) that mercy is giving someone what he or she does not deserve, that mercy involves risk and sacrifice. How much am I willing to sacrifice to show God's love and mercy to others?

So I'm looking for suggestions for things to do. I'm looking for people to come along side me and help. Not just in this, but in other situations too. I have a friend who has no family here, who had a baby a month ago, and who needs more help than I am capable of giving on my own. So pray, offer me advice, and help if you can.