What Should We Do with All These Needy People?

I spent four days away with family to have a mini-vacation. When I returned home, my animals, left in the care of a friend while I was gone, began competing for my attention. They were needy, and they didn't have any issues about expressing it. I didn't have any issues about meeting it.

Not always the case with humans.

Imagine the letter C drawn in the sand, with the open section facing down, so that it is not recognizable as a C. If I asked you what shape that was, you would likely say it was circular, because our mind likes to close things. We follow the loop of the arc and see that when closed it becomes a circle. We add whatever definition suits our fancy.

Now, perhaps it was really the beginning of the Greek letter Omega, in which case it would not be circular at all. We can't know until we have all the facts, but we come equipped with our conclusions ahead of time.

When I encounter humans with a desire for validation, notice, affirmation, or regard, I likewise tend to project my explanations on them. I create a "back story" about why they have a need, or what kind of need they really have, or if they even have a need in the first place.

A guy sitting on the sidewalk has a cup in front of him with some change in it. I've never met him before in my life, yet I observe him in order to form a back story. He's homeless. He's a drunk. He's mentally ill. He's lazy. He's a child of God. Yes, even that one!

I form a conclusion to support some action I feel obligated to take in regard to him. Do I ask him his name? Where he's from? What he needs? No, I just make a decision - yes or no; on or off; donate or don't donate; love or scorn; acknowledge or ignore. I have created my own story about him and I am satisfied with that.

I don't respond to him and his need with anything near the intensity or compassion that I offer my dogs or my cat. Instead, I imagine a reason for his need and, beyond perhaps a small donation and the same "God bless you" that I offer to a stranger who sneezes, I keep walking.

I wonder what would happen if I stopped and said, "Hi, my name is David, what's yours?"

Blessings,
David

And lead us not...

Gee, for no reason at all I seem to be thinking about temptation. Or, perhaps, I just encountered it. Maybe. Possibly. It could happen. I know; you're shocked, but get over it.

Sometimes temptation appears unexpectedly. Someone makes a remark, a billboard uses a seductive picture, something is lying on the street. You cannot always predict when and how temptation may show up, right?

Actually, I think temptation is rarely ever unexpected. After all, those same things may not have any affect on another day. Temptation is only temptation if I'm in the mood to be tempted, and whether or not I am in the mood to be tempted depends on how much attention I am paying to maintaining my spirituality in a healthy way. While grace is there as a safety net, and I'm glad it is, spiritual maintenance is largely a proactive practice.

If I have an intention to remain in grace, there are ways for me to support that intention. Regular and intermeittent prayer, supportive friends, positive music, and so on. If I'm "paying intention," I'm on the path.

Challenges occur when I'm not paying intention, when I'm bored, or as the 12-step groups put it, in those "HALT" moments (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired). If I qualify for one or more of those, I need to address it quickly and resolve the problem.

I have a prayer, though, for those moments of temptation, a slight twist on a classic. Temptation is not a problem unless I begin to consider why I deserve to engage in something, or why it won't hurt anyone, or why it will go unnoticed. So my prayer is:

"And lead me not into rationalization, but deliver me from my thinking. Amen."

God usually has better ideas than I do, especially in those moments!

Blessings,
David