The other day while out driving, I had to wait through a stoplight at a busy intersection. In my city, such intersections are often chosen by homeless persons a place to ask for money. They wait by the side of the highway for cars to stop at the light, and when people cannot go anywhere else, they walk by with a sign asking for food, money, or some kind of help. This time was no different. As I looked at the corner, there was a man with a sign. What is he really going to do with the money, I wondered. I told myself I was in a hurry, I didn’t want to roll the window down and let a stranger reach his hand inside my car, and so I sat there trying not to make eye contact.
Maybe you’ve experienced something similar. Phil Ware, pulpit minister at Southern Hills church, writes about his own encounter. Phil’s post, however, has some interesting suggestions about how to be better prepared, in attitude and in practicality, to give practical expressions of God’s grace:
1) Pray for these people whom you have met and will meet in the future. Ask them their names and pray for them by name. See each one as a person, not a group or a label.
2) Carry some gift cards from a local fast food place that you can give. Can’t afford gift cards? Are you willing to fast a meal a week in exchange for helping someone else?
3) Make care packages that you carry in your car for such an occasion. See the suggestions on what to include.
I want to help, but I want to be responsible in who and how I help. Maybe some practical suggestions such as these can move me to action instead of making excuses to do nothing.
What about you? Do you have ideas about what to include in a care package? Have you ever done something like this personally or through an organized effort? Leave your comments below this post.
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