If I were homeless ...

Darren (my bro-in-law) has been taking a homeless guy out to dinner during his breaks at work. After a fabulous meal at Carl's Jr., the guy asked Darren if he had any money to "buy booze." Darren said, "Sure," and handed him $5 bucks. My first response, which sort of surprised me, was, If I were homeless I would want to drink too. I am definitely one of those people who used to think that I couldn't give money to people begging or standing on street corners because they were just going to go by alcohol with it ... and that was just not good! Without Christ where does any warmth or hope come from for the homeless population who curl up on a park benches, cover up with newspapers and go to bed? For them it most likely comes in the form of a bottle which might even warm their insides and numb the pain of being homeless and having no where to go. Without Christ and without a roof over my head I think I would hit the bottle too. Too often I think I have judged first before empathizing and seeking to understand why someone is at a certain crossroads in life (i.e. homeless). I have judged the label on the bottle before daring to really try the liquid content. If a homeless person ever asks me for money to "buy booze," I hope that I have the courage to sit down with him and ask why he wants booze in the first place and then maybe even share a beer with the guy. Now that would be revolutionary (for me, at least).