To Be Human

I recently saw a documentary titled Kicking It about a soccer tournament in which all of the participants were homeless men.  The organizers of the tournament called the Homeless World Cup had an idea to use the game of soccer to change the lives of the men.  To be honest as I watched the film I kept thinking to myself, "Sure, the men seem to enjoy the game but come on, they are homeless.  What they need is what anyone in such a situation needs: food, shelter, clothing, etc."  I thought this because this is what one who is in poverty need.  Someone in the grips of poverty needs food, not a game.

As the film progress it followed several men who were playing in the tournament.  There were men from Ireland, Afghanistan, Kenya, America, Russian, and some 40 other countries.  One of the men from the Russia team would routinely say, "We must win."  His demeanor was of great determination.  His, "We must win" was always said not so much with a drive for the glory of victory but with the voice of a man in desperation to save his life.  It was as if his life literally depended upon his team winning a simple soccer tournament that most of the world knew nothing about.

So what exactly was it?  Why was it so important to win this soccer tournament?  In the words of the man, "If we win, then we will be human."  You see poverty isn't just about the lack of food, clothing, or shelter.  What poverty ultimately does is strip someone of their belief that they are human.  They are stripped of that because that is how they are most often treated by others.  They are treated, viewed, and often ignored as something less than worthy of our attention; something less than human.

    The poor is disliked even by his neighbor,
        but the rich has many friends.
     Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner,
        but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.
                                                 (Proverbs 14:20-21 ESV)

A Question of Cause

Earlier today I was watching a TV show in which part of the story line dealt with a homeless man who had died and another man trying to arrange a funeral for him. The show got me to think about the way we often deal with people. When we are confronted by people who find themselves in a, let's just say, a less than desirable situation we often base our decision to provide assistance to them based on the known or the assumed reason for them being in that situation. For instance, we may gladly help people who are struck by a natural disaster. An earthquake, tornado, or hurricane destroys homes without prejudice and there is nothing that one can really do to prevent such occurrences. However, if we know someone is homeless often our (or perhaps I should simply say my and not presume to know your thoughts) first inclination when deciding to help is to first determine the cause of their predicament. Are they in this condition because of a hurricane or are they in this predicament because of drug use, alcoholism, and/or criminal behavior? Perhaps they simply fell on hard times because it's a bad economy? Perhaps they made some really bad financial decisions? Maybe they are just too lazy to work?

It seems to me that our decision to help someone is largely based on the answers to these questions. Now, as I was watching this TV show I began to think about what motivates us to help one person (or group) over another. I began to think about these questions that we often ask and use to judge who is worthy of being helped. Then I thought about the cross. I thought that when Jesus went to the cross He did not ask about our past and what caused us to be in the situation we were in. Of course, He knew what caused us to be in our situation. He didn't base His decision to save us on our past performances and whether those past performances were worthy of His sacrifice. He went to the cross despite our pasts and despite the fact that we weren't worthy. He simply went to the cross for His enemies, the ones who harmed Him, the ones who were against Him, the ones who did not want His help. The question isn't really how did one get to where they are, the question is do we believe that God can pull them out of that situation? Can He change them? Can He give them new life? The other question is are we willing to be obedient to God and to be His hands and feet to whomever despite their past and despite what caused them to be in their current situation? Is grace for everyone or just those whom we deem worthy?