Homelessness

     I have a number of acquaintances who are or have been homeless.  I also have a couple of friends who have been homeless for a time in their lives.  They have shared their experiences, or at least some of their experiences.

     The concept of being homeless is very disconcerting to me.  But my friends have shared that it can be survived.  One of my two friends actually chose to be homeless.  He wanted to be free to roam wherever he chose without the bonds of a home to tie him to a certain locale.  He wanted to be free to wander and to explore the country.  He had no property tax to pay.  He had no mortgage looming over his head.  He had no lawn to demand being mowed and no shrubs or trees to demand being pruned and trimmed and watered and weeded.  Sometimes he even had no automobile.

     My other friend was forced into homelessness.  Various circumstances came upon him that left him destitute.  He lived in the streets, seeking food and shelter where he could find it.  And this way of living has cost him terribly.  It has robbed him of his physical health.  Harsh winters and poor nutrition and inadequate attention to health concerns have injured him considerably.  These conditions were inflicted upon him by others.  His church body betrayed him.  Others to whom he was devoted betrayed and abandoned him and did injury to him.  His closest family all died.  The government also worked against him, especially when he was homeless.  The police issued a multitude of citations against him for paying his fare to ride the subway, and then staying onboard all night to keep from freezing.  Apparently, homeless people are not allowed to use the subway for survival, as their presence makes others uncomfortable.

     One friend chose homelessness as a lifestyle during various times of his life.  Another friend endured being pressed into a homeless condition and suffered for it and continues to suffer the effects.  But neither friend ever discounted the value of having a home.  Even though one sought a temporary freedom, and sometimes still does, through cutting the ties to a particular location to call home, the longing for what home really is remains strong.

     I have noticed that this is especially true for those who are homeless from a spiritual perspective.  Many people choose to seek an imagined freedom through cutting all ties to a religious and spiritual heritage or home.  Others find themselves pressed out and unable to find a place to call home.  In both cases the people suffer consequences of their homelessness.

     Sadly, very, very few people really ever discover the true home that God has provided for His children.  Most people have no true perception of what this home is.  They hear about it.  They read about it in the Scriptures.  They observe others who claim to belong to it.  Even among those claiming to belong to this spiritual home, very few are truly members of God’s household.  Rather, most fabricate their own versions of what they think God’s house should be and label it as His.  But the safety and security and blessings of His house are not present because it is only a facsimile of His house.  Often the facsimile is not even very close to resembling His house.  Other times it is more convincing with many of the features of His house closely mimicked, but nevertheless still not the real place of the dwelling of His name.

     The Lord Jesus explained this to the Pharisee who came to Him as John records in chapter three.

     There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

     Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

     Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

     Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?  (John 3:1-12)

     The Lord Jesus explains that unless one has been born into this household through the spiritual rebirth by which one is made to be a member of this household, one cannot even recognize it, let alone enter into it.  He first explains that this rebirth is from above.  It is not something that one does for oneself or even chooses for oneself, but it is worked from above, by the Father which is in heaven.

     Yet He furthermore explains that this miracle from heaven is worked on earth through the combination of the earthly life giving and cleansing substance of water along with the heavenly life giving and cleansing Spirit.  When the water is applied by one who is a member of this household, according to the manner ordained by the Lord, that is, in connection with His name of life and forgiveness and blessing in His eternal Communion, then it has the power to effect that which He promises.  It opens the eyes and ears and hearts of those born spiritually blind and deaf and lifeless to His kingdom.  Those who were dead are raised to the new life of His grace, mercy, and peace.  These children born of the Spirit now recognize the Kingdom of God on earth and rejoice in having been made to be members of it with all of that belongs to the coheirs of Jesus.

     The truly sad state of matters in which the world exists is that there are so many facsimiles of God’s house that hardly anyone ever encounters the real house of God so as to be able to receive the rebirth from above that God works through His true household of faith.  Thus instead there exists a multitude of diverse churches and church bodies, some of which bear about as much resemblance to the household of God as a mud ball resembles a precious jewel, and others bear a closer resemblance so that people imagine that they partake of God’s promises when all that they really receive are corrupted fragments.

     Yet still God shows Himself faithful.  He does nevertheless preserve His little Church on earth.  He does still work the miraculous rebirth from death to life through Baptism and He does still nourish and protect and nurture His beloved children through the Holy Supper.  Those who belong to Him know the true freedom of being closely bound to Him and to the brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus.  They know the freedom of being able to say

     “Yes!  I have a true home.  I am a member of God’s holy family both now and forevermore.  I share in the inheritance that Jesus purchased for all who through faith receive God’s saving and restoring grace.  I know who my Father is and I rejoice in His never-ending and limitless love.  I have a home and I sit at the Table and eat the bread of heaven and drink of the life of the blood.”

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Help Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

I imagine that you received one of these in the mail, too.

The program is presented at Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive™.

On the surface, this appears to be a very noble effort and cause.  Surely the providing of food for those who are hungry is a noble endeavor that I support wholeheartedly.  Yet I did not do so through this particular program.

Why not?

For starters, my wife and I are at an income level that would qualify us for the food stamp or “vision” food assistance program.  But this really is not a factor, as we do give food and help to others, only not through “programs.”  Unless, of course, one counts the government programs paid for through the money that the government and the FED steal from us.  But then, that money is not actually used to help people, nor even to pay for the government’s budgeted items.  That money goes to the FED.  The actual programs and budget are never actually paid as the government just borrows more money from the FED for these.

But to the real reasons that we do not give to such programs as this by the postal carriers, first consider the companies for whom they advertise.  Yes, this program is an advertisement for the companies and products displayed both on the post card and on the web site.  Of those listed, besides the USPS itself, we do not support any of these companies nor their products.  Of the products shown as examples in the Food Drive bag, not one product is one that we consider safe for eating.  We do not buy any of these products because of the food additives (toxins) contained within them.  Every one of these is loaded with processed glutamates and other toxins.  We do not buy these or similar products for ourselves and we will not give them to others.  Moreover, every one of the displayed items are overpriced.

Moreover, we have no real knowledge of the workings of this organization.  What we clearly can see from their post card and web site is that they promote companies and products and organizations that we do not support.

Additionally, to whom is the credit given for these donated items?  Is the love of God in any way declared to the recipients of our gifts if we donate to this organization?  Is our own love (generated in us through God’s love at work in us) in any way directly shared with those who will receive these items?  Do those who receive these receive them as gifts of love from us, or are these gifts portrayed as coming through this organization that promotes things that we actually oppose on account of the harm that these companies, products, and organizations cause or promote both to people and society?  How many of these groups even openly oppose the Gospel and Christ’s Church?

Then also, is the false notion presented by the program that by giving a bag of food items that the problem of hunger is being stamped out or eliminated.  This is a scam and a farce.  The problem of hunger is not one of people having no food available, but one of their means of providing for themselves being stolen from them by the very companies and government promoting this program!  The poor will always be among us, but in this nation with all of its blessings, all of its resources, all of its technology, all of its capable people, most of whom are willing to work, hunger and homelessness should not be a rampant problem.  The problem is being manufactured or perpetrated upon our people by those who have been entrusted with protecting us.

When we buy into the notion that through a non-committal form of helping, that through giving a bag of canned goods to be picked up by the letter carriers to be given to a massive distribution center, that through this hunger is being stamped out, this is nothing more than hypocrisy.  This is a “washing of one’s hands” of the problem.

Certainly the giving of such gifts is a good effort.  But if this is the end of it, then it really amounts to nothing more than attempting to excuse oneself of the responsibility of true love for neighbor and brother.  Cain falsely cried, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  Cain brought gifts or offerings to the Lord in this same way, as an act of obligation and not an act that flowed from true love of God.  Abel acted in response to God’s love working in him so that his acts were also acts of love toward God and toward all.  Cain actually rose up in anger and killed his brother on account of this disparity.  When we throw a few canned goods at the needy, and turn a blind eye to how our programs and leaders and corporations and banking system are destroying their hope of independence and productivity, are we really doing any differently than Cain?  Are we not also murdering our brother?

If indeed we truly want to stamp out hunger, if indeed we do count ourselves as our brother’s keepers, should be not be seeking to stamp out the causes of hunger rather than merely throwing a few cans at the hungry and telling them to go back out into the streets and the unemployment lines?  Shouldn’t we be stamping out political parties that speak of effecting change and acting conservatively, while actually promoting the status quo of this unjust and ungodly abuse of widows and orphans and other struggling people?  At the current rate, how long will it be before we are those at whom these cans are being thrown?

“Here, have a bag of canned goods and go away.”

To turn to use of a pun, is this not food for thought?

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No Food, No Water, No Help for Homeless

Feeding The Homeless BANNED In Major Cities All Over America reports on the fact that cities in the USA are passing ordinances and using absurd reasons for stopping caring citizens from helping their neighbors.

City puts a stop to homeless outreach reports that one couple who were helping their hungry neighbors were forced to stop by the city of Houston. The excuse given was that they had to have a permit and “To get that permit, the food must be prepared in a certified kitchen with a certified food manager.”

Here in Wichita not long ago the Lord’s Diner was not allowed to expand to establish a new center for free suppers for the hungry because these undesirable people were not wanted in the neighborhood. (See previous post The Lord’s Diner.)

At Church Ordered to Stop Giving Away Free Water it is reported that Hope Church in Metairie, LA was given a warning citation and forced to stop giving out free water to people in a Mardi Gras parade. They purchased bottled water and were giving it away for free, and they were forced to stop.

Among the cities listed as restricting and regulating feeding of people is my home town of Orlando, Florida. Orlando Activists Arrested For Feeding Homeless In Defiance Of City Ordinance shares the story. The story shares that “An editorial in the Orlando Sentinel supported with the court's decision this morning. They note that "at least 10 organizations regularly serve food to the hungry downtown" without defying the law.”

Big Surprise! The Orlando Sentinel supports big government bureaucratic control. The activist group, Food Not Bombs, is probably a group with whom I have huge points of disagreement. Perhaps their activities do fill the park to such a degree that it causes interference, but I seriously doubt it. I have walked that park many times. I have gone to the park at night to visit with those who were interested in hearing the Gospel. I have encountered the “bums” and have given food and assistance to at least a few. Would I be arrested today for these activities? Probably not, as I was not setting up to help large numbers of people and so the city bureaucrats likely would not think that I was helping enough people to be counted as a problem. But if I were to set up a table with several people helping me to give out food and drink, I would have to obtain a permit and could only obtain one twice per year, according to this report.

Some people are homeless by choice. Others have been put on the streets by the bureaucrats and bankers. Now these wonderful people are limiting who may help others, who may be helped, and are imposing permit fees for doing so. Permits always have a fee/tax.

What happens when people become desperate on account of hunger? What happens when some of the homeless try to obtain food by stealing and perhaps hurt someone and are arrested and imprisoned. Will people then say, as in the post below, that these prisoners should be used for experiments and even for organ harvesting for the wealthy? If the folk from Food Not Bombs violate the Orlando ordinance to the point of being imprisoned, will they become involuntary organ donors?

Perhaps someone will say: “Stop being ridiculous!”

Ridiculous? Who would have believed thirty years ago that it would be illegal to give food or water to a hungry or thirsty neighbor? Who would have believed thirty years ago that there would be web sites advertising the sale of body parts from babies, as is shown in the post below? Who would have believed thirty years ago that something like the NDAA would be passed that allows people to be arrested without being charged, to be held indefinitely at the whim of the government bureaucrats?

Ridiculous? Thirty years ago most people would have said so regarding much of what is now commonplace.

There has been abuse and injustice since that sad day in Eden. Horrible things have been done by unbelieving and false believing people ever since. Selfishness and greed have largely prevailed throughout the history of the human race. Certain groups of people have been mistreated simply because of their ethnicity or their place in society. This is not something new in the history of the world.

But is this what we want to allow, especially in the USA? Shall we allow displays of genuine love for and kindness toward fellow man to be made a crime? Has it ever happened before, even in America? It seems so as we examine our past. But shall we continue in this pattern and perhaps even to a worse degree today?

It truly is alarming to me that we are allowing the bankers and big money people first to bankrupt the entire nation and then to take people’s homes from them and then to criminalize both being homeless and then also being kind to those whom the government and banks have made to be criminals. How can it be that today we can actually be punished for being kind and loving to others?

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A Homeless Refugee of Royal Claim

Our back yard seems to be a thoroughfare for many of the neighborhood creatures.

After the stormy and rainy weather broke, allowing a bit of sunny and pleasant weather to nudge its way into the later afternoon hours, I noticed two squirrels, a rabbit, and many birds enjoying our landscape.  Watching the rabbit in particular, I wondered about the several cats who frequently inspect our back yard.

This cat is one of the more frequent visitors.  I see this one quite regularly.  It seems to sleep here some nights.  Sometimes it seems to stay beneath our deck and sometimes under my lumber and pipe storage rack.

Today it seems to have claimed our air conditioner compressor unit as its own luxurious throne.

In my many encounters with this cat, I often have spoken to it.  I have never tried to make friends, however, as it does not belong here.  Nevertheless, I enjoy speaking kindly to it.  It often has stopped to look to see how I would act, and seems to give a shrug of relief when I do not act cruelly or threateningly.

At any rate, today it contentedly made use of our kitty lounge and permitted me to take its photograph.