Thankful for the Basics

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10 ESV). This is the time of the year when it is very easy to notice that some do not have what we would consider the “basics” in life. Consider the following statistics from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development: On any given night, there are over 600,000 homeless people in the U.S. Most people are spending the night either in homeless shelters or in some sort of short-term transitional housing. Slightly more than a third are living in cars or under bridges or are in some other way living unsheltered. HUD further reports that on any given night, over 138,000 of the homeless in the U.S. are children under the age of 18. Over 57,000 veterans are homeless each night. Sixty percent of them are in shelters, the rest unsheltered. Nearly 5,000 are female. A 2014 survey of 187 cities by the NLCHP found that 24 percent of cities make it a city-wide crime to beg in public, 33 percent make it illegal to stand around or loiter anyplace in the city, 18 percent make it a crime to sleep anywhere in public, 43 percent make it illegal to sleep in your car, and 53 percent make it illegal to sit or lie down in particular public places. And the number of cities criminalizing homelessness is steadily increasing. I suppose all of this brings me to a key principle. God desires us to have the basics in life. He wants us to have adequate food, clothing, and shelter. If you have a home, be thankful you have a place to rest and relax. Hopefully your home is also a place of safety and encouragement. Additionally, I think it is clear that each of us who do have those basics also share a responsibility to help those who don’t. It is a daunting thought that so many are suffering. It is easy to simply think we are too small to make a significant contribution; or, we may come to a belief that it is the responsibility of the government to care for those who are in need. That has never been God’s formula. Let me make a couple of suggestions for you to consider. If you are one of the many fortunate who have your needs met be thankful. And, find a way to volunteer to help an organization near you as they minister to the needs of the homeless and hungry. It may be simply volunteering to serve the food to those who come to the shelter; it may be that you will volunteer to take collect or deliver food to those who are in need. There are many ways to express your gratitude for your basic needs in a tangible way. Find one and participate. And, pray for those that are not so blessed as you.