Actions speak louder than words.

"You don't have to be a preacher, a teacher, a missionary or an evangelist to have compassion for people."

The charity I work for isn't just a mission or a shelter for the homeless. It's so much more than that. So many shelters only work to maintain the stasis of a community; the ratio of homeless vs. the self sufficient. What are they doing to help the community? What are they doing to help people?

Compassion is a tricky word and a tricky emotion and, in my experience, has often been confused with guilt. We feel guilty that we see someone who's hungry. We feel guilty that we see someone who's dirty. We feel guilty that we have so much and they have nothing. What we're REALLY feeling guilty about is that we are doing NOTHING to change it. We create our own guilt. And our society is drowning in it.

What is it that this charity does to affect change? What makes us so different?

We offer an opportunity for change. Those words are important so let's say them again: an opportunity for change. We have this one year program that focuses on identifying the underlying crisis that is causing the dysfunction. And there is ALWAYS a crisis. Look at the last two posts. These are men who lost their mother and their son. Despair is hard to cope with. Of course they struggled. It makes more sense to counsel the crisis than to counsel the issue of homelessness. So we bring men into a residential, structured setting for a year. They go through a process that works on addictions, emotional instabilities, dysfunction, irresponsibilities, etc. We HELP THEM CHANGE. It culminates at the end of the year with practical work experience in our side business, a catering company that donates 100% of the proceeds to the program. We do this so that, when they get out and get a place (we pay their deposit and first month), they have a resume and can get a job. We work hard to move them through the ENTIRE process.

We are working to not just maintain those less fortunate. We're working to help them change and, in turn, improve the community.

Every Thursday morning we (the staff) attend Chapel with the residents. Today the message was about compassion and holding steadfast in your path and your goal.

Sure, we're a Christian organization. But, what's crazy to me, is that people often lose sight of the bigger picture here. It's incredible how often compassion is connected to faith. "Of course they run a mission. They're Christians."

What an incredibly misleading statement.

"You don't have to be a preacher, a teacher, a missionary, or an evangelist to have compassion for people."

You don't have to be a Christian to help. You don't have to be a saint to help. You don't have to think that, to help, you need to donate huge amounts of time and money. You just need to have compassion. Stop putting your blinders on to avoid the guilt we all feel when we know we can do more and don't. Just DO something. Stop saying you want to or you will and do it now.

It's not hard. It's not time consuming. It's not going to break the bank.

Have compassion. Practice active love for the world around you. Participate in good works.