Sharing the Gospel with homeless people.

I've been meditating on a popular idiom that originated in the 16th century by an English farmer and writer named Thomas Tusser. He wrote, "A fool and his money are soon parted." It is oft quoted as a Bible verse (even by myself, mistakenly) but in fact is not one. The closest the Scriptures come to making this statement is found in the book of Proverbs 17 verse 16. It states, "Of what use is money in the hand of a fool, since he has no desire to get wisdom?" Tusser must have been thinking of that particular passage when he wrote down his famous bit of popular wisdom.

My reason for pondering these truths began last Monday when a couple of homeless women named Tommy and Marcy approached me asking for a couple bucks to get themselves dinner. They had supposedly not eaten for two days. After some brief conversation I said I could do better than that and took them to the nearest restaurant for some hot food on the condition that I eat with them. I chuckled in the line and made the comment to Tommy that I had been praying for opportunities to be generous.

After we sat down, I asked them for a favor. They accepted and I said, "Do you know Jesus?" They gave me the deer in the headlights look (which I expected) and I laughed and told them that I just wanted to pray for the meal in His name. The weight of religion was immediately lifted from their shoulders and they broke out into wide grins and chortling laughter and said that they would LOVE to pray with me! They extended their hands out to me and I thanked God for His grace, compassion, goodness, mercy and provision. When we released hands, I chuckled again and mentioned the looks on their faces. I told them that I could "totally understand" why they were nervous.

We feasted, buffet style, for about 30 minutes, at which point I had to take off. We packed up the left-overs for them and I asked if I could take them anywhere for blankets or anything else they might need. Tommy started crying and Marcy soon followed and they just started giving me hug after hug after hug. It was an experience. They told me that they needed to do their laundry because the deluge of rain the previous week had soaked all their clothes and blankets (this is where my foolishness entered the picture). I gave them enough money to do their laundry and quite a bit beyond that. I didn't even bother to think that they were homeless because they were probably irresponsible with money. They started crying even more and thanked me for the money with hugs and smiles.

Still, God is able to redeem even foolishness with His amazing grace. Wanting to have the opportunity to share the love of God with them again I asked if we could meet at the same place on Friday evening. They agreed and the time was set...for precisely when I was supposed to be getting to my second job! I don't know how I forgot about that one. My mind was obviously on other things. That proved to be providential, however, seeing as a young man should probably not be meeting up with a couple of homeless women. The Lord offered me a great opportunity through my own lack of organization and foolishness!

When Friday rolled around, I stopped by a (cheap) hole-in-the-wall Mexican food joint and bought a couple orders of rolled tacos for them. I drove to our meeting point and, right at 5 pm, saw Tommy on the corner. I got out of my car with the food and walked over to her. It was great to see her again! Marcy was not there because she was apparently sick. I said that I had stupidly organized our meet up during work hours and gave her the food. I also gave to her a card for my church which providentially was right down the street and invited her to show up on Sunday morning if she wanted help to get back on her feet. I mentioned that I could understand the vicious cycle of trying to work as a homeless person. She had no home, no convenient bathroom facilities to clean up, no decent clothes, etc. She indicated that she would show up because her lifestyle was "getting old" but only if I promised to be there. She basically made me promise three times.

We'll see if Tommy and Marcy truly want help and are able to make it some Sunday morning. What a blessing from God that would be! In the meantime, I am considering the truth behind a few other amazing Scriptures and have determined that I am thankful, even in my foolishness, for I would rather part with my money temporarily and learn the goodness of God more greatly because of it. I will not have the same lack of wisdom again! I desire only to know God more. Here are those Scriptures:

Proverbs 16:16 - "How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!"

Luke 12:15 - "Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Matthew 7:7-8 - "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."