Across the street from our house are three car parking spaces. It is a corner of town, hidden from CCTV and the accountability of society. Every day I see guys loitering there; drinking beer in the street, throwing their cans on the ground, urinating up the walls. All of these are illegal where we live.
From a MarketPlace point of view, we could lose less money in our mortgage on the property if these people would go away and ‘devalue’ somebody else’s ‘front yard’. Getting them ‘moved on’ would probably take a month of daily phone calls to the local police.
From a Church point of view, Jesus talked about loving neighbours and casting out demons. My only contact with these people is to ask them to use a bin and to not p*** up the walls please. So my message is that Jesus likes streets that are clean and stench free.
Should I ‘live and let live’ or do I pick up the phone?
4 comments:
You make a good point about how a lot of times we just want our problem to become someone else's problem.
Do you talk with these guys regularly? Unless you've specifically mentioned Jesus during your interactions with them, I don't think you've communicated to them that Jesus likes clean streets. Even if they know you're a Christian, that doesn't necessarily mean that the reasons for your requests are related to your faith.
I'm guessing that they're not open to getting to know you better. If they were, that would be the ideal way to treat them the way Jesus probably would.
you make an interesting point about what constitutes a 'message from Jesus'...
my faith and other beliefs are what shape my values. and my values shape my views, actions, words etc. so i would say that whether i like it or not, my beliefs permeate me and are inseparable from my being.
i would say that *everything* i say and do either (a) reflects the kingdom of God or (b) does not reflect the kingdom of God.
e.g. regardless of whether or not i have spoken to these guys about Jesus, regardless of how well i know them or how well they know me, if i just get them 'moved on' because i see them as 'trash that devalues my neighbourhood', then i would say that that is contrary to the kingdom of God.
are not Spirit-born-believers, and their words and actions, the hands, feet and voice of God on the earth? is this not the kingdom of God on earth that Jesus taught us to pray for?
I reckon you're right sputnik re everything we do either reflecting or not reflecting the kingdom of God... but in your situation if God has entrusted us with the care of his world - Gen 1&2 - then should not that include correcting things when they go awry? Isn't God's word full of this correction process? We need to offer God's grace, but it has to be received to be effective - so pray for the guys and see if God opens an opportunity to demonstrate his grace, but don't hold back on seeking to maintain God's world and the neighbourhood he's made you a part of in a fitting way.
my motivation for moving people on is not so much about caring for God's creation. it's because i don't want rancid smelling urine in a place where my kids walk and try to pick up things - probably an almost-empty can and try to drink the dregs. and i don't want my kids to get cut on their broken glass, or think its ok to leave beer cans in the street, or involuntarily listen to their foul language.
is that wrong?
besides that most of the guys are nice enough. some of their stories are quite moving, no wonder they want to find a corner of the world hidden from society's accountability. world systems and church organisations have little to offer them; the relationships are abrasive and usually confrontational. they find love and security amongst their own community on the street. so who am i to take that away?
surely to 'sweep the house clean' without offering an alternative just perpetuates demonic manifestation?
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