The Man with the Wrinkled Cardboard Sign

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

Hebrews 13:1-3 (NIV)

The light turned red. A man holding a folded-up cardboard sign stood between lanes of cars and looked into an open car window. When he shuffled to the median next to me, I remembered there was a bag for such a situation in my car. 

            My hand reached behind my seat to try to find it in the nest of cloth shopping bags. Miraculously, I grabbed it on the first attempt. 

            I kept watching the traffic light to be sure it remained red. My arm held the bag out to the man in weathered clothes as he neared me. 

            “Thank you,” he said. He looked at the bottle of water and granola bar and back to me. 

            “That man… He said… I have to go lie down.” He couldn’t finish.  

            My heart broke as tears glazed his eyes. 

            “I am not a bad person. I don’t steal.”

            We locked eyes. The light changed and we moved apart forever. 

            Why did the driver feel he should berate the guy who hadn’t yelled, been disrespectful or violent? But he voiced upsetting words to an already forlorn fellow. The consequences of his actions would never be known to him but devastated his target. 

            All the way home, the sadness and tears of the anguished soul burdened my heart. No matter what caused him to stand on streets hoping for handouts, he was still a man loved by God. He didn’t deserve the abuse. 

            The homeless aren’t always treated badly but more often ignored. Overlooked as though they are nothing. 

            No matter the circumstances people find themselves in, we can be kind and show the love of Jesus. 

            That man and I will probably never see each other again but I hope our brief interaction gave him a bit of encouragement and hope. 

            At home, I started filling plastic bags because I never know when they will be needed. Of course, a smile and kind word are readily available without a bag. 

Loving God, show us who needs a kind word, smile and encouragement. Guide us to help those who are in difficult circumstances and to not look down on the trampled.

Amen