I have a sister
who lives at a campground. Some of the sites are for permanent residents and
the rest are for campers. She lives in a motorhome. After living there for
awhile, she found out a man lived on the property who did odd jobs for the owner
of the camp and its residents.
She asked
this man if he would clean off the roof and do other tasks for her. She got to
know him and realized he wasn’t quite normal. She found out he used to be an
executive at a large corporation, but his young wife had died of cancer and he
had a nervous breakdown. He told her he was in a hospital for a few months and
was better for a time. A few years later, he had a girlfriend who also died, in
an accident I think.
After that,
he was in a permanent depression and just couldn’t cope with life at all. He
lost his job and was homeless for a long time. Somehow, he got a small camper
and lived in that. He came to her campground and asked the owner if he could
live there by doing odd jobs and he told him he could.
My sister
knew him for at least five years but told me he was going downhill. He started
going to a psychiatric hospital occasionally. Later, when she would ask him to
work for her, he forgot or took a few weeks to do it. Eventually, he quit doing
all work.
Around that
time, they started talking about God. She bought him two Bibles, one a graphic
novel type and another regular Bible. She spoke to him of what God had done for
her and how she loved being a Christian.
He told her
all the Christians he had met were unkind to him, especially two people at the
park. They had promised to pay him a certain amount of money and then cut his
pay in half after he was done. He said he had tried to go to churches, but the
people there didn’t want him. He said he was surprised she was a Christian
because she was nice to him.
A few months
later, she found out the owner and manager had kicked him out because he wasn’t
working enough and his site was messy. She doesn’t know where he went.
When I think
of that man, I think of the word, “Outcast.” Then I think of Jesus, a friend of
outcasts and who became one himself. I also think of mental illness and how
misunderstood it is.
As I’ve
written before, I have a mental illness and my sister told me most of the
homeless people she met have had either a physical or mental illness. They are
people no one knows what to do with. They are without a rudder in this cold
world. People look down on them and ask, “Why aren’t they working? They look
healthy enough to work!”
I’ll tell
you why. They probably can’t concentrate, they may be terrified of people (like
me), they are afraid to work because they know they will make mistakes and
people will yell at them, and they can’t bear the thought of that. (me) Their
memory isn’t good. They will forget what you told them to do, or misunderstand
instructions. (me) They don’t have a car, bus fare, clothing. They are
sometimes so nervous they cannot speak. (me)
If I didn’t
have a husband to support me, I’d be homeless myself. Well, my daughters would
take me in. I am blessed that way. My family understands my illness and loves
me.
I’m writing
this because I wish so much that the world would do something for these people.
I know how complicated that is; although I did read about a city in Canada that
built apartments for all the homeless and made it a law they couldn’t live on
the streets. It has worked out wonderfully and is actually saving the city
money. Maybe it isn’t as hard as we think. We have a terrific Premier in BC,
where I live. He is doing a lot for the homeless. I admire him.
Well, I said
what was burning in my heart. Here are some verses from the Bible about
outcasts.
The blind
man Jesus healed:
They answered and said to him, "You
were born entirely in sins, and do you teach us?" And they cast him out.
When
Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, He found the man and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
“Who is He, Sir?” he replied. “Tell me so that
I may believe in Him.” “You have already seen
Him,” Jesus answered. “He is the One speaking
with you.” “Lord, I believe,” he said. And he worshiped
Jesus. John
9:34-38
A parable of Jesus:
So, they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.
Mark 12:8
God speaking to Israel:
If your outcasts are in the uttermost
parts of heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there
he will take you. Deut. 30:4
I will make the lame into a remnant, and
the outcast into a strong nation. Then the LORD will rule over them in Mount
Zion from that day and forever.
Micah 4:7
Behold, at that time I will deal with
all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will
change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. Zeph. 3:19
Whereas you have been forsaken and
hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy
from age to age. Isaiah 60:15
Those who hurt the poor:
What do you mean by crushing my people,
by grinding the face of the poor?” declares the Lord GOD of hosts. Isaiah 3:15
What sorrow awaits the unjust judges
and
those who issue unfair laws.
They
deprive the poor of justice
and
deny the rights of the needy among my people.
They
prey on widows
and
take advantage of orphans.
What
will you do when I punish you,
when
I send disaster upon you from a distant land?
To
whom will you turn for help?
Where
will your treasures be safe?
Isaiah
10:1-3
