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Beware!... “the welfare of humanity" (also known as “repairing the world") has always been the alibi
of tyrants. In fact, ”the urge to save humanity" is often a false front for the urge to rule as a despot
Salvation by faith, according to Reformed Samaritanism
The salvation of man is effected through faith; through faith in the fact that God will not fail to return unto
each person the same goodness he has sown upon his fellow human beings. As correctly stated by the noble
Christian tradition: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned;
forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed, shaken and
overflowing they will give in your lap; for with the same measure with which you measure, they will
measure you again ”- Luke 6: 37-38
A social worker wisely describers The issues facing homeless America
I spent six years, feeding, clothing, and housing the homeless in Chattanooga, TN. I did it for another four
years in Wichita, KS and four more years in Sioux Falls, SD. My experience was first hand, as a ministry,
face to face, dealing with the homeless and the municipalities in addressing the issue.
In my experience, the population of homeless breaks down like this: 1/3 are totally committed to the lifestyle.
They've checked out of our culture, they don't care to make a deposit to get the power cut on, they don't care
to live the lifestyle the vast majority of Americans still choose to live. These people are sane, intelligent,
healthy, some very well educated, many very talented, and refuse to remain a part of this culture we have
crafted. And they do well in that world. Their numbers continue to grow at a higher rate than the other 2/3rds
and at some point they may become a force we will have to deal with, like it or not. These folks look at life
and their values system is a vast departure from the American norm.
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The second third are folks who are just totally incapable of helping themselves and there is no social net to
help them. When I was feeding in Chattanooga, there was a man with some form of epilepsy who could not
keep food on his fork from plate to mouth. Twice a week I fed him in the same fashion I fed my one year old
child. I was told innumerable times by other homeless that those were the only two solid meals he got in a
week. I believe that several other members of his community started helping him. But for him, there are
twenty others I can bring up as bad or worse with no one to help them. I could help that one and I did, but he
was but the tip of the iceberg. Social services has nothing for this segment, hospitals won't take them in, no
sanitariums, nothing, just whatever charities and ministries that step forward to help is it.
Point is, about a 1/3 of them cannot help themselves, they truly are society's refuse. The last third is a bit
more complicated. These are what I called the "one-handers." One helping hand and they'd gladly rejoin
society. Some are dodging ages old arrest warrants or lawsuits, many are families trying to stay together
while ADC agents are actively trying to take the children, many have accrued onerous indebtedness that once
they have a paycheck (turn up on the radar), the court will garnish so much they have nothing left to live on.
So what's the point of working? Point is this segment, this 1/3 of all homeless are pushed there because they
fell afoul of a very unforgiving system, judicial and societal. With a good attorney and a compassionate
judge, most of these people would be back to work in no time. And they would return to normal society
again. But without that one helping hand to help keep the family together, to arrange rational garnishment to
recoup debts, to reconcile an old warrant for disorderly conduct or fleeing the scene of whatever, they will
get locked up and will have to appear undefended before a judge who in all likelihood will remand them
without regard that they've lived the last eight years without offense.
I do take exception to the repeated use of "mental illness" in ordfer to describe the community. Take ANY
American, deprive him of regular meals for two weeks and very irregular sleep with spotty hygiene
opportunities and tell me they won't get 'loopy.' The simple fact is this, most Americans have not experienced
hunger, physical insecurity, and lack of sleep for any protracted periods. Most Americans put into those
circumstances would fold like a lawn chair. These people are tough, but more importantly, they are survivors
of adverse circumstances and living conditions. I saw no more evidence of mental illness, alcoholism, or
drug use in their community than I did at work, church, or the local filling station. The problem is we are
looking for a reason to not help, to not get involved, to wash our hands of participating in a solution. The fact
is, the problem with damaged people is that they know they can survive. And that frightens normal
Americans.
Now one can argue harshly about all of this and that is their right. When I first went into that ministry in
2001, I had the standard Republican attitude about the homeless. I was wrong and so are most people. But
here is the final point, while many choose to argue, they choose to argue because they do not choose to help.
To help their fellow man where his homelessness is not his problem but rather an effect of another underlying
issue. A third of them we cannot help because they reject our lifestyle. But we can help 2/3's, but that would
involve enabling ministries and many other charities to take the fight to the street. There are plenty of people
willing to take this on, but there is institutional and civic resistance to it. The municipalities resist the help
through onerous licensing and permitting for the charities, law enforcement preys upon people trying to get
help by surveilling and arresting people in line for a meal, the list goes on.
We've created the problem by creating a culture, a legal system, and a social order that is so harsh and
unforgiving that perfectly capable and rational people choose to affiliate with society's refuse rather than
continuing to participate in it. Cancel culture = Counter culture.
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