[Cerek the Barbaric]

Grungi -


You asked earlier if any of the Christians on this board would take a homeless man into our house if he knocked on our door. I cannot speak for anybody else, but I can tell you that I most likely would not. I have to consider the safety of my wife and three very young children in taking such an action...and the fact is that it would present too large of a risk to their safety to allow him into my house.

As a quick example, I had two young black men ring my doorbell at midnight not long ago. I live in a rural area so this was VERY UNUSUAL. I opened my door enough to ask what they wanted. One said his friend was injured and would like to use my phone. I told him he and his friend could stay on the porch and I would call an ambulance for them. I did and the ambulance soon arrived to take them to the hospital. A couple of days later, I learned that his friend had been injured when they had been caught breaking into the house of one of my neighbors...and the neighbor had attacked them and driven them off. The point is....I'm not going to let anybody in my house unless I know for certain that they present no threat.

Having said that, however, there ARE other options available that I would seek. There is a Christian Shelter in my town that does offer food, shelter, and rehab to drug addicts. If they were not able to help the person, I can always call the police. They will come pick him up and take him to the home of a friend or relative if he has any. If not, they will take him to jail so that he at least has a warm place to sleep that night.

So - would I take him into MY home? Probably not. But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't help him.

I understand the anger and disdain you feel towards Christians because of your personal experiences and I can't say as I blame you for that. But you also seem to be setting the parameters of "acceptable Christian behavior" far too narrowly. As I mentioned before, most Christians would be the first ones to admit that they aren't perfect and that they fall short of God's Will every day. When you have a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ, you view your actions through HIS eyes, rather than your own. I see shortcomings in my life everyday. But God doesn't expect us to be perfect, He just expects us to try and to sincerely ask for forgiveness when we fail.

[ 12-02-2002, 02:42 PM: Message edited by: Cerek the Barbaric ]