A Lesson From Up North

December 9th, 2009 |

In his classic tale “A Christmas Carol”, Charles Dickens focuses on the life of a man who is so self-absorbed and self-righteous that he totally ignores the poverty all around him.  He doesn’t just dismiss the needs; he actually has disdain for the needy.  At one point in the story he is confronted by two men who ask him to give to a fund to support the poor during the holidays.  They chose this time of year to collect because “need is keenly felt and generosity abounds.”  His response is “bah humbug.”   Watching this wonderful story has become one of my Christmas traditions.  I particularly enjoy the musical adaptation starring Albert Finney.  Although it is not very doctrinally sound, it is a story of hope that people can change and make the world around them a better place.  I suppose if we were honest, there is a bit of Scrooge in all of us.  We can at times become disinterested and even show a bit of disdain for the needy.  If you drive through or around our sister city to the North, you probably know what I mean.   There seems to be certain spots where the needy congregate with homemade signs pleading their case for help.  One such spot is the corner of I-240 and Getwell, while another popular place is I-240 and Union Avenue.  Most of the signs have scribbled messages like “hungry” or “will work for food”, but while on our way to hospital the other day, Bro. Grant and I saw a sign that beats them all.  It simply said, “I’ll be honest with you, I need a beer.”  While I do not advocate drinking and would certainly not want to support someone’s bad habit, I was tempted to turn around and give the guy some money just because he was being so honest.   The truth is, there are needs all around us that we pass by all year long.  We have all kinds of reasons why-we are busy, we are broke, and of course, we are suspicious.  But perhaps in our piety, we are actually encouraging people not to be truthful.  They are afraid if they are honest, we will give them an ear full instead of trying to help fill their cup.

A lesson from up north,
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