Wise as Serpents, Innocent as Doves

“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Matthew 10.16

While I was on vacation, St. Barnabas had a visitor come to the church on Sunday. He presented himself has being homeless and in need of help.  As Christians, our ingrained responds is one of compassion.  We are all broken in some way and in need of God’s love and strength.  Unfortunately, there are those that will take advantage of our better nature. This visitor was, in fact, a scam artist and used the compassion showed him for his own selfish gain.
I know this situation caused many people discomfort – from not knowing how to respond to a stranger in need, to feeling ashamed for being taken advantage of by a scam artist.  Having been in these situations before, I know how that feels and it is disconcerting. 
First of all, we know that our INTENTIONS are always to do God’s will and offer God’s love in the midst of a broken world.  We cannot be faulted for our desire to share God’s love or encourage others in their desire to seek God in their lives.  Knowing we are giving our utmost of God’s highest is the start of knowing we give God the glory for all righteous acts we offer.

Next, we need to be PREPARED for helping those in need.  It is more of a challenge on Sunday as most help agencies are closed, however we can contact NJ211 for help with housing.  There is also the Ozanam Inn [men’s shelter] 732-729-0850 and the Women Aware [domestic violence] 24 Hour Hotline 732-249-4504.  For food, we can give a grocery gift card Shop & Shop or Shop Rite (paid for by the Discretionary Fund, even if I am not here!). 

It is important to know what our BOUNDARIES are.  Many people have sad stories to tell.  I have hear versions of many of them.  We need to listen carefully to those stories and seek the Holy Spirit’s wisdom in discerning the truth.  From what I have heard, this visitor had a very compelling story.  I would want to have known how he got to St. Barnabas (it is not easy to get to without transportation)?  Where did he stay the night before?  Press for specifics and don’t feel that we are being too nosey.  As Jesus said above, we need to know there are wolves out there, so we can be cunning in our compassion, knowing our intention is to do God’s will, not to be taken advantage of.
It is my policy to NEVER give money to anyone.  A gift card or the offer to fill up a car or buy a train ticket is fine, but not to give out cash.  Also I would direct that NO ONE take a person home.  If we cannot identity some housing, we can offer a one night stay at a motel (again, paid for by the Discretionary Fund).  If someone really wants to get help, offering a way to find that help is all we are called to do.  That individual must be willing to do the follow-up work.  We cannot do that for them. 
Perhaps our visitor showed us that we at St. Barnabas are too comfortable with our way of being that we felt ill-equipped to welcome the stranger. That gives us the opportunity to learn – perhaps not the lesson we wanted, but a lesson nonetheless.  We need to be prepared for whoever walks through our door, know our boundaries as well as our intentions to do good.  We offer God’s love to all people, but no one has the right to take advantage of us.  We cannot help everyone, but we can help some, even one, if he or she wants to be helped.
If anyone would like to talk more about this incident or how to respond in the future, I would welcome that conversation.
In Christ,

Rev. Valerie+

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