Suspect Motives
“If you knew who I was . . . If you knew what I’ve done . . .” The translator repeats the words of the man in the slouchy jacket, the unzipped dirty jeans. He accepts the bag lunch but starts backing away, beginning to cry.
“Hey, man, can we pray for you?” The translator holds out a hand and waits to see if the man responds.
“Si, si,” he lurches back and grips the younger man’s hand. He clings with one hand, leaning on his cane with the hand that still holds the brown paper sack. When they’re done praying, he beams at them and hobbles away, repeating “Gracias, muchas gracias.”
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Thirty bag lunches handed out to people who spend their days on the streets, twelve plastic mats to those who’ll sleep on the streets as well. The group leaves the parks and bus stations, passing a transient hotel with a parking lot full of people.
They talk about why they’re here. Some of them have lived on the edge of homelessness, one lost paycheck or serious illness from losing everything. Some of them just want a better understanding of the situation. They all want to help, even knowing that these few lunches, this protection from the damp ground, is such a tiny part of what’s necessary. But it’s something they can do, and it’s the first of many visits planned.
They question if their motivation is suspect. They question if they reached the ones most in need. But does it matter? Should we withhold our help because we’re not sure if our motives are pure or if we’re helping the right people? Jesus said that at the final judgement He will say, “I was hungry and you fed me. . . . and Then these righteous ones will reply,
‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you?’
‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” (Matthew 25:34–40 NLT)
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