This indeed is the time of year for food. Delicious food at that. And I really love delicious food. Lately just this idea of hunger has kinda been all around me. The more time I spend with the Homeless and broken, the more awesome that it is, and yet more difficult at the same time and I really haven't spent that much time loving on them. I go to Food Not Bombs every week for a feeding at Finlay park, it's very cool and a great opportunity to network with Christians as well as non-christians who care for the homeless.
Lately though it's been interesting to really think about the situation at hand. I've had several people tell me that the homeless in Columbia may in fact be OVER fed, getting opportunities to have 6 meals a day. It would appear that when people think Homelessness and how to fight it, instantly we think... oh we'll go give them food. Don't get me wrong here, food is vital, and there are plenty of people who really are struggling to get food, but what are we doing to end the root causes of this hunger?
It's interesting because this has been going through my mind for a while, and I want to know what I can do to fight poverty, to get people out of their situations, and not just helping them be comfortable where they are. I believe that Jesus wants me to love everyone just as they are, and I'm fine with that, but to not long for them to get into a better situation, or to not long for them to hunger for Jesus has to be a huge part of what I do.
Two cool things to check out:
and also Sunday's podcast from Midtown, Jon Ludavina talked about Knowing God and hungering for him.
About Me
- Andrew Stewart
- I am a college student currently attending the University of South Carolina. I am passionate about Jesus Christ and currently am trying to follow him and serve in Columbia, South Carolina
2 comments:
Hope you are good brother.
Trevor
yea... i know that what you're saying is true. A friend of mine out there will readily admit that "Columbia feeds us." He gets breakfast lunch and dinner every day. If I expect three meals a day though, then there is no reason not to want that for them to. I think of three meals as being the standard, and if I don't get them, I'm unhappy. If I feel that I deserve it, then every man deserves it also.
Some of them choose not to get off the street though. I talked to one couple who gets a $600 check each month and blows it in a few days. I told them that $600 is almost enough to get a place and food with... then I said, "So y'all just... choose.. to be homeless then??" They looked at me like they' never thought about that before, then said "yea... I guess so."
An overwhelming desire for instant gratification and alcoholism, are the two biggest causes of chronic homelessness in Columbia. Still, there are some who want help. To them, we need to help them get jobs as fast as possible, give them assistance saving money (direct deposit money from work into an account that's tightly controlled, and match their savings $ for $ with our own tithing), and we need to help them find cheap housing to move into in a quiet neighborhood where they can start a new life and not see anyone they used to know.
ugh. easier said than done...
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