Last night I went with a couple friends to the veteran’s park in Newhall to serve some homeless guys who are living there. It was a good time listening and talking to these guys, for whatever brought them to that tough place in life, but there was something interesting I picked up from one appreciative gentleman named Tim. A couple weeks ago one of our guys visited that park to see what needs he could help out with, as there are few homeless people in Santa Clarita compared to the countless faces down south in Los Angeles. Tim thought that was kind, but it was a week later that confused him. The guy from our group actually showed up a second time, delivering some items requested by Tim and his friends that slept nearby. Then explaining the story further–I could see the amazement in Tim’s face when he came to this part–our guy showed up again the NEXT week. I mean, who does that?
One of the other homeless guys last night was one of those people that honestly looks you in the eye (maybe that came along with his past experience serving in the military), and I took something he said as his way of saying thanks to us… His words were, “You guys have better stuff to do,” in reference to us stopping to serve people in need.
I guess my question is… do I?
I mean, to put it in simple terms, should my entire life be scheduled around the things that I get some sort of reward from, be it personal enjoyment, money, whatever? Hey, right now I could even turn this little incident into a boost for my oh-so-delicate personal reputation, because isn’t it wonderful how I helped someone? (actually, I do it very rarely). So yes, anything can be done for the wrong reasons. But would it not be equally sad to sit around (or fill up all my own free time!), ignoring a world in need? I guess the next logical step in peeling back the layers of this conversation is to ask what kind of motivation actually has the power to convince me to live for something other than myself. Certainly not exclusively the enjoyment I personally receive from serving others, because am I not back to square one–the motivation being for my own reward? …more to come, comments are welcomed.
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Thanks for sharing this. It’s great to see you being the church in SCV. Let me know more about what you’re up too there because I’m sure the CStone church in SCV would love to help out as well.
-C
Wow….thanks. Not only does it make me think, but it makes me think about what I should and CAN do….