Another Take on Crisp, Cold Nights

A couple of days ago, I posted on how I love crisp, cold nights. We’ve experienced a few of those here in Georgia the past few days (again, please refer to disclaimer #1 in my 10/27/08 post). In the first post, I described how I enjoyed the cold nights and what they offer, particularly the opportunity to enjoy coming back inside and warming up again by means of a hot drink or a warm fire. It’s a very nostalgic thought—if you have a home.

Not ten minutes after I posted that blog on Monday night, I got a phone call from a friend of mine, who went on to tell me that he had been in contact with a homeless man that day who was in need of a place to stay. He had a wife, a daughter, no job, no home, and no money, and the temperature was supposed to be in the low 30’s that night. My friend called to see if I might be able to offer him a place of refuge for the cold night. Unfortunately I was not able to, due to the fact that I merely rent a bedroom from someone in their home. Had I been somewhere by myself, the situation might have been different, but that is not what I wish to discuss.

After I hung up the phone, my heart was extremely heavy. Here I was reveling in the utopian thought of crackling fires, friends and family, hot chocolate (heck, I might as well have been describing a Christmas card), while someone on the other side of town was about to freeze for the night.

How short-sighted we can be! How selfish in our thoughts and attitudes! God’s Word describes pure religion as taking care of widows, orphans, and those in need (James 1:27). Jesus himself said that whatever we do to the least of people, we do it for him (Matthew 25:40). More specifically, James warns us to beware of wishing well to our brothers and sisters in need while denying them assistance: “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2: 15-17). That’s exactly what I did yesterday. I curled up under a blanket and wished the world a warm, happy night while thousands of people across our country, and even more around the world, struggled to keep warm on that frigid night.

No, I can’t help them all, but I can help those around me. No, I wasn’t able to provide a place to stay for a man the other night, but I can be more proactive in my efforts of helping those in need. No, there is nothing wrong with appreciating warmth, friends, and the other things we enjoy during the colder months, but there is something wrong when that clouds our concern for those who don’t have those things.

The man ended up finding a place to stay, and my friend was able to give him a little money, hook him up with a small job, and get him connected with a local church to provide further support and assistance. I was very thankful of that.

I made an important realization the other day: Jesus didn’t blog about keeping warm. He didn’t write about “chestnuts roasting over an open fire.” He was out there with those in need, helping them.

May I never again be so naïve.