"THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD..."

"My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons." (James 2:1)

There's a line from a Top Forty song of the early 1970s that I'll never forget. (The song is, "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" by Joe South.) It goes like this:
"Well, there are people on reservations and out in the ghetto; and brother there but for the grace of God, go you and I..."

That's a line my mother often used, "There but for the grace of God go you and I". This was also the theme of a Phil Collins song from over twenty years ago entitled, "Think Twice".

How and why do we FORGET and IGNORE the neediest people- the most hurting people- in our society? But we do. Listen; I DO!

I've made a number of references on my blog about my job as a telephone answering service operator and things I've learned from that job. Today, I'm going to write about another. I can be quite a complainer. I can look on the worst side of things. I can sometimes get pretty negative. On this job, I've come face-to-face, well, NOT "face-to-face" but "EAR-TO-EAR" with some deeply hurting people. There are calls that would bring me to tears if I didn't keep myself under control.

Think you've got it really tough? We answer for a neurological practice that specializes in CHILDREN and ADOLESCENTS. Imagine taking a call from a Mom in Boston's western suburbs whose eight-year-old daughter has just had her third seizure of the day and now her speech has become quite slurred. Mom wants to talk to whatever doctor is on call. Can you "type" the paging message on the computer screen without feeling SO sorry for that poor family? I can't. I wonder, "HOW do these families DO it?" Imagine a kid of yours having, say, twenty seizures A MONTH!

It's not just the families with neurological problems that get to you. It's the 85-year-old woman in tears because she just got the news that her doctor of forty years has just retired. I had a call a few weeks ago from a very troubles Dad whose young daughter had cancer. Yesterday, during the midday "lunch time", a woman called a suburban Boston medical practice. She sounded nervous and upset.

"It's VERY important!" she stated, "I need my medical records FAXed to the Shelter I'm moving into down in New Bedford. If they don't get those records I can't move in. I'll be living in my car again."

I took the message and sent it. Then I did something I don't do often at work. I told the caller that I'm an Assemblies of God minister and I offered to pray for her. She burst into tears and accepted my offer; and I began to pray. I finished by saying, "I want you to know God knows you and cares about you." She told me through tears that she's having a hard time believing God cares about her.

People such as I have described here are all over the place. The last thing they need is our judgment and condemnation.

The late Keith Green was killed in a plane crash almost thirty years ago, but his poignant writings and songs continue to prod the church world and make us feel uncomfortable. Check out Keith's song entitled, "Open Your Eyes" sometime.

We've all got to do a lot better about this stuff. That includes me.