CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME

CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME

by

Christine Phillips

December 1, 2011

Yesterday I saw something that made me sad. Standing next to the Taco Bell in front of the Kmart on Jefferson Davis Highway in Chester was a middle-aged woman. She was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and dark pants. She had the hood pulled up over her head, and her gray bangs spilled over her forehead. She was holding a hand-lettered cardboard sign that read, “HOMELESS. NEED WORK.”

My initial reaction to the sight of this poor woman was pity. She was standing there looking so desperate. I couldn’t help thinking, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

Then I thought, “Why doesn’t she walk into the Kmart or one of the other stores and ask to fill out an application? Wouldn’t that be more advantageous to her than standing on a street corner holding a sign? Can a person even get a job if he or she doesn’t have a home or a mailing address?”

In no way am I trying to be condescending here. I’m just expressing my thoughts. I’ve never been in that woman’s predicament, so I don’t know what it’s like. I can imagine what it must feel like, though. It must make a person feel very desolate to stand there hoping someone will show mercy. I wouldn’t want to experience it firsthand…or see someone I know having to go through it.

Perhaps the woman used to be a successful business owner whose business went bankrupt. Perhaps she once had a high-paying job that suddenly got cut like so many others as the company tried to stay afloat. Perhaps she found herself unable to pay her bills, defaulted on her mortgage, and lost her home. Perhaps she had nothing left except the clothes she was wearing. In today’s economy, a scenario like this is all too common.

Many of us turn the other way when we see someone who needs help. We don’t want to see them or even imagine ourselves in their place. Perhaps instead we should ask ourselves what we can do to help them. Better yet, we should ask them, and meet them at their need. We have been blessed in so many ways. We have much to be thankful for. Why not give someone in need something to be thankful for as well? Surely there is something we can do.

This is the time of year when charities ask for donations to help the poor and needy. But remember the old adage, “Charity begins at home.” What if a shop owner hired a homeless person and offered her a place to stay until she got back on her feet? That act of kindness could change the homeless person’s life for the better. Not only would she no longer be homeless, but she would be able to support herself and buy new clothes and food. Her self-respect and self-confidence would be restored, as would her health and happiness. She would never forget the generous person who helped her turn her life around.

Perhaps I’m being naïve. Perhaps the woman I saw was actually very wealthy, but was conducting an experiment to see if people would be compassionate and generous during the holiday season. Or, perhaps she really was homeless and unemployed. All the same, no one should be reduced to standing on a street corner holding a sign begging for work or food, especially during the holidays. Someday that could be one of us.