You see the homeless man standing on a street corner with a sign that asks for money.
He will use it to buy alcohol, get drunk and sleep it off in some alley. You know the story because he comes to the mission where you volunteer. How easy for some people to turn away and judge him as a bum who doesn’t try to do better. What they don’t know is that he is a veteran who has been suffering from PTSD ever since he came home from the war. He has lost his family, his job, everything because of the demons he fights every day.
Judge Not
The Bible tells us not to judge others, but that is human nature. We see someone and immediately create a story based on a few seconds of interaction. We treat them as two-dimensional characters with no feelings or complex emotions. This is not how God wants Christians to act.
When you are involved in ministry, you are going to run into some people who are difficult to like, much less love. How will you treat the murderer in prison for life when you are involved in a prison ministry? What about the alcoholic or drug addict who comes in to a homeless shelter seeking refuge?
Mercy First
Mercy is displaying a compassionate attitude displayed in acts of kindness to those who need it whether they deserve it or not. God calls us to be merciful just as He is merciful. We must focus on that attribute and leave the judging to Him.
Mercy is not the same as acceptance. Just because you show mercy to someone in need, it doesn’t mean that you agree with their behaviors. You are extending kindness in spite of what they do. You can hope that by showing that benevolent attitude and meeting their needs, you are demonstrating a better way to live. However, the final decision is up to them. You cannot change someone else; you can only show them mercy and encourage them to move beyond their present circumstances.
Ministering to Those You Cannot Agree With
Jesus often spent time with sinners. You cannot think that all of the people He healed followed Him from that day forward. Many of them went back to their homes with changed lives, but there were probably just as many who continued with the same behaviors as before. Jesus did not require that they show proof of changed lives before receiving the healing they wanted.
It is the same for those of us in ministry today. We must see people the way Jesus saw them, with compassion and mercy. We do not have to agree with their lifestyles and behaviors to know they need our help. If Jesus could say “Father, forgive them” from the cross even though they never asked for forgiveness, can’t we minister to those who need us even if they never respond the way we hope?
