The Late Night post- Regarding things that really matter

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me"- Matthew 25:40

"For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, 'You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land"- Deuteronomy 15:11

Tonight I got into an argument. It became emotional. I was upset at the end of it and for the first time in months, I actually knelt down in front of my car and prayed to God that I had represented him well in the things I had said.

The other participant in this argument believed that the homeless people living in Northside were a nuisance to his business, and therefore the Church of the Reconciler, which serves the poor in this area, was also a nuisance. He believed the Church needed to relocate so that the homeless would no longer be in his place of business. He believed this was necessary for his "customers" to feel secure buying from him, but this customer shall not ever be participating in his business. My belief, as a Christian, is that we can never consider our own rights more important than those of the disadvantaged. The fact of the matter, at least in my own life, is that I could easily be on the street if not for people who intervened at exactly the right time. The fact that they have nothing should have no relevance to how I treat their right to exist in the same space as me.

I can understand non-Christians disagreeing with the presence of the poor in their everyday life, but there is no topic which Jesus addressed more in his ministry. He made it clear that the privileged class in his eyes were those who had nothing, so who am I to deny this.

I am afraid I alienated someone tonight from wanting to further their relationship with me, but the truth is that, if there is anything compelling about Jesus, it is his unwillingness to bow down before the powers of money and its authority. There is no moral superiority that comes with being financially fortunate, and we would all do well to remember that. Instead of bitching about taxes, perhaps we should ask ourselves who our neighbors are, and what we can do for them. I don't know why I got so emotional tonight, but perhaps it was because I remembered who I looked up to, and who he stood up for. I haven't been there for the poor in the past year, but tonight reminded me that there is real hate being directed towards them, and they need solidarity. God bless the homeless of Birmingham. I hope they will always be welcomed and accepted by those who call Christ their leader. I'm not a stuck up Jesus freak by any means, but if there is anything that has ever drawn me towards him, it is his fearlessness in sticking up for the voiceless. May we all do the same, regardless of faith.