Drugs on the Streets – Wealth in the Windows

There is such an irony on the streets of Vancouver – and most any other city across the world.  The poor and the wealthy co-exist side by side, keeping their distance.  Tonight Aaron and I walked from the apartment where we joined in a community dinner to the Salvation Army (SA) building for a “cell” (home group) meeting.  As we got closer to the SA we walked past exclusive shops with high dollar clothes on one block (one even had a large mean looking dog standing in the doorway as if he was on guard) and the next block I walked past a woman sitting on the side walk shooting heroin in her arm, another block with fancy shops, and the next block I walked past a guy putting on a jacket with a syringe full of heroin sticking out his mouth.

I haven’t had much of a chance to process these images yet.  I was a bit surprised that I didn’t have more of a reaction of disgust, horror or some other response that my middle class white American mindset would have.  It was more like “Okay, I just saw my first addict shooting up.”  Moving on…  Am I more drawn to the beautiful clothes in the windows than the addicts on the street?  I hope not.  I pray that God will give me His compassion for ALL those I see – even the wealthy.  Not my human compassion, which will falter and fail.  But Gods compassion that is eternal.  Romans 9:15,16 says I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.  It does not depend on mans’ desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

James 2:9 says that if you show favoritism you sin and are as a law breaker.  He also says in verse 5 that God has chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom.      Lord, help me to show that same compassion on the rich and the poor, to not be a respecter of persons but to love as Christ would love.