OLL UP THAT WINDOW!" I said to my startled wife when I saw her begin to roll her car window down.

"Don't talk to that guy!" I continued. "He probably just wants money for drugs. He can go out and get a job like everyone else."

A man, obviously homeless, stood beside our car near an intersection where we were waiting for the light to change. Dressed in tattered, dirty clothes, needing a shave and haircut, he held a sign that read: "Homeless. Please help. God bless you."

Now that I'm actively involved in a ministry to the homeless, I look back on this incident as one of the turning points in my way of thinking about the poor. The Holy Spirit used it to teach me how God looks at the situation.

By the Book
My epiphany came one day as I read Psalm 103:10. Speaking about God, it said: "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities."* As I reflected on my own life and the ways God had blessed me, I knew this was certainly true in my own experience. The gospel itself is an indication that God doesn't treat any of us as we deserve.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," wrote the apostle Paul (Rom. 3:23). And he said further, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23). Slowly, the more I reflected on the gospel, the more my attitude about the homeless began to change.

One day, as my wife and I walked toward our car in a store parking lot, I saw an obviously homeless man shifting under a small tree in a feeble attempt to find shelter from the ovenlike heat of the Arizona sun. Again my heart was moved, and without much thought, I reached into my wallet and pulled out several McDonald's tokens, good for free sandwiches, fries, drinks, etc. Someone had given them to me, and when I took them I thought I could use them someday when I needed a quick lunch. In reality, I knew they would probably stay in my wallet until the expiration date passed.

I walked over to the man and handed him the coupons, along with the change in my pocket. "Here, get yourself something to eat and drink," I said. I turned from the surprised man and walked back toward the car to find an even more surprised look on my wife's face.

"Why did you do that?" she asked. Knowing me as she did, having heard all my speeches about the United States being the land of opportunity and my tirades against those who were unwilling to take advantage of those opportunities, she was somewhat shocked by my actions.

"I don't know," I replied. "He just looked as if he needed something to eat. Besides," I added in an attempt to appear less of a sap, "it's so hot today, he looked as if he might be dehydrated."

Our Action Plan
In July 2000 at the urging of the Holy Spirit, my wife and I decided we could no longer wait until God erected a billboard with our names on it detailing exactly what He wanted us to do in the area of ministry for others.

A friend had been distributing cold bottled water to homeless people for some time, and we had accompanied her once to see first hand what it was like. We decided it was a worthwhile project, but reasoned that her ministry was not ours. We needed to do something ourselves, closer to home. We decided to copy her example by taking cold water bottles to a park near our old home, a place we knew was a hangout for the homeless. We talked about it, and even though we both understood that we really didn't know how to begin or what to say or what we would actually encounter, we decided just to do it.

What began with a case of bottled water and a bag of ice in a cooler has steadily grown. Within a couple weeks we added lunch sacks filled with sandwiches, fruit, and cookies. A few weeks later, as we discussed the needs of the homeless, we decided to cook an entire meal, just as if we were having a family picnic. We unloaded our picnic meal and invited the park's homeless to join us.

It now takes several of the homeless to help us carry the coolers, thermoses, pots, pans, and other containers we unload from my pickup each Sunday afternoon. In less than a year our original group of about 10 to 15 has nearly doubled. On an average Sunday we cook about 20 pounds of potatoes, make a half gallon of gravy, go through several loaves of bread and a large pot of beans or other vegetables, and feed two to three dozen people.

How can we afford it? Last year I would've told you that we couldn't. God, however, is faithful and has promised to repay whatever we spend to help the poor. We have claimed the promise: "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done" (Prov. 19:17). Our annual income has increased by nearly $10,000, much more than we spend in feeding the homeless. God is indeed faithful.

Questions for Reflection or Small Group Study 1. What experiences-good or bad-have you had as a result of trying to help the needy? 2. How important is it to have your "own ministry"? Does being involved in a state or other nonprofit community service fulfill God's mandate to help the poor? Why? Or why not? 3. In addition to feeding the homeless, what other community services could your church, or you as an individual, provide? 4. What's the greatest fear that keeps you from being involved in a ministry of compassion? Be specific.

Our lives have changed in other ways since we made the decision to begin helping the homeless. Whereas I once argued that homeless people were that way because of their own bad choices, I know now that this is not always the case. While it's true that many are homeless because of drug and alcohol addictions or because of various other wrong choices they have made in life, some have simply been victims: of abuse, divorce, poverty, and other circumstances I'll never understand.

Now, instead of my trying to determine whether a person is worthy of my help, the Holy Spirit says to me, "There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you-who are you to judge your neighbor?" (James 4:12).

In the past, when someone would approach me and ask for spare change to buy a sandwich, I would try to size up the person or determine whether or not he was actually conning me and would use the money to purchase alcohol or drugs. Now, in addition to the above scripture, the Holy Spirit also brings to mind Proverbs 3:27, 28: "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, 'Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow'-when you now have it with you."

What of the Future?
Our ministry to the homeless, which we have labeled the "Park Project," has been a blessing to us, as well. While we have been able to pray with many of our homeless friends for help in overcoming addictions and other personal problems, and have distributed scores of Bibles, tracts, Bible lessons, and Adventist missionary books, we have learned it truly is impossible to outgive God. He has enriched our lives spiritually because of this ministry. We both know with certainty that God is using us to effect change in the lives of some of these men and women.

Our goal is to begin a branch Sabbath school with our homeless friends and eventually secure a permanent location to have meetings, hold Bible studies, and minister to their needs physically and spiritually.

I thank my heavenly Father that, as unworthy as I am of all He has given me, He did not cast me aside. He sent His Son to redeem me from my bad choices, and He's promised me that I'll never be homeless, because He's prepared a special home for me.

I want to do all I can to help the less fortunate, and I really don't care if someone thinks I'm a sap for doing it.

*Texts in this article are from the New International Version.

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S. R. Morris is a public school teacher who teaches fifth graders in Arizona.