I Am Disturbed (in more ways than one)

Hearing about three homeless folks beaten in Florida disturbs me. It doesn't disturb me that it happened so much-- frankly, it happens to homeless folks all the time, if they are passed out or so mentally ill that they are clearly helpless. I have known a number of homeless folks who have been raped, beaten while sleeping, mugged. Recently, two homeless folks have been murdered and left in the Sandy River. This is normal life, and most homeless folks are aware of it.

I guess I'm disturbed by the surprise. Why do folks think that the homeless WOULDN'T be beaten? The homeless, the mentally ill, they are the pariahs of our society, the "niggers" of the twenty first century. They are the rejects, the outcasts, the mocked. They are not taken seriously as human beings. And they are defenseless. They have no recourse, no options. If a grave injustice was done them, could they hire a lawyer and sue? Could they get the police-- who just recently raided their camps or openly harrased them on the open street-- to stand for them?

But what I'm really disturbed-- and angered-- by is the ignorance. The churches who are calling for racial and national harmony but ignore the class persecution that is happening in our backyard. We can pat ourselves on the backs because we have encouraged a process of equality, but we still neglect the least equal.

Why do you think these young, white teenagers attack the homeless and the mentally ill? Because they are easy targets? Surely this is true, but there are other targets just as easy, such as elderly widows who live alone. Because they live out of sight? Possibly, but that didn't stop the two teens from beating a man in light, in front of a camera.

The fullest cause is the disgust and fear the normal American has for the homeless and mentally ill. This comes from not understanding the truth of the situation. This comes from ignorance. I have had one person call me, supporting their prejudice against the homeless say, "It was right near a homeless camp that a friend of mine was raped!" Yes, and I have had my friends beaten and murdered by people who are middle class and live in houses-- does this mean that I have the right to limit the opportunities for all middle class homed people? It is just this kind of thinking that create prejudicial policies against the homeless.

It is time to stop the prejudice against the homeless and mentally ill. And we need to begin in our hearts. Then in our churches. Perhaps then, we can move on to society at large. But let's start now.

Prevent Schizo-phobia

Give Honor, not fear, to Those with Mental Illnesses

What is mental illness?

For many, it is acting like a child, when one is an adult.
Many mentally ill people act oddly for an adult—but the same behavior in a child would be understood. In many ways, a mentally ill person acts like a child—with tantrums, threats, inappropriate questions or comments, or in just being unaware of other’s needs or concerns.

It is not being able to fulfill one’s social responsibilities for no medically discernable cause
Mentally ill people aren’t stupid. They are just as intelligent as anyone else. But they are unable to do some of the things others can do well. That isn’t any different from any of us, but the things the mentally ill are unable to do make them unable to hold down regular jobs, or to mingle appropriately in situations that most find easy to do. A mentally ill person among "normal" society is like a recent immigrant—they don’t know or are unable to act within appropriate norms.

It is consistently acting inappropriately to common stresses of life
None of us like to suffer or face difficulties, but those who are mentally ill often find themselves responding to the stresses of life in ways society or God finds unacceptable. They might scream at someone for a small infraction, or be self-destructive or hide in their room for days at a time. This doesn’t mean they are dangerous, or even unpredictable—they just are different than most of society. Mentally ill people are rarely violent to other people—as a group, the same percentage is violent as "normal" people.

It is having a chemical imbalance in one’s brain
Most doctors say that those with mental illnesses have a chemical imbalance in their brain, although this imbalance cannot be diagnosed by machinery of humanity. But those who have studied mental illness have seen some patterns of response and diagnose the illnesses these ways. If it is diagnosed, then for some, medication is available to assist those who are suffering. Such medication is not fool-proof and for some it is not the answer at all—but for many it has helped.

It is being open to spiritual attack
Most people with mental illnesses are not possessed by demons. However, because of their weaknesses, demons do like to attack them. Thus, the mentally ill need to be surrounded by prayer, but they should not be objects of derision. When approached by one who is oppressed by demons, then—if the oppressed one is ready to live for Jesus—the demons must be rebuked and sent away.

It is being weak in areas of sin
Like many of us, those with mental illnesses are vulnerable to certain sins. Perhaps their sins are more obvious because they do not have the social ability to hide their lusts and temptations. This just means that they need more gentleness and patience from those who would teach them.

How to respond to mental illness
The members of the church we consider worthy of less honor, we give more honor to, and those who are ugly we make beautiful. I Corinthians 12:23

If you dishonor those who have nothing, then you despise the church of God. I Corinthians 11:22

Did not God choose the needy of this world to be rich in faith? But you have dishonored the needy. James 2:3-4

Whoever causes one of these little ones to fall away will gain a terrible punishment. Mark 9:42

Be humble and recognize that we all have mental weaknesses in some areas
We are all mentally weak in some areas. Some cannot read, but we do not ostracize them. Some cannot speak publicly, but we are understanding of it. Those who are mentally ill are the same way, it is just that their weaknesses are socially unacceptable. Even so, we need to recognize that we could be mentally ill—and that perhaps we are mildly so, but we haven’t been diagnosed yet.

Do not fear, but try to understand
Most people respond to the mentally ill with fear, as if they might be attacked by them any minute. However, if one is understanding and patient, then you are not any more likely to be attacked by a mentally ill person than by anyone else you might meet on the street. Rather than instantly responding with fear, we should make an attempt to understand each person and what makes them tick. Perhaps you will have to stretch yourself to understand the mentally ill, but understanding is the first step to love.

Do not judge, but listen
We should not judge the mentally ill person, but we should listen to them (James 1:19). At first, what they say may not make much sense. But over time you will find that every mentally ill person has a logical consistency of their own. Perhaps you will feel that they are living in a different world than you, but soon you will understand why they act like they do.

Do not reject, but pray for deliverance
Just because someone acts in ways we do not understand, that doesn’t mean that we should reject them. Perhaps someone is overtaken by sin—they do not deserve our hatred or rejection, instead they deserve our prayers because they are oppressed by something stronger than themselves. This is the same for the mentally ill person—they are overtaken by something too powerful for them. In that circumstance, we should pray for their deliverance, and expect God to respond in their lives.

Do not separate, but welcome
Some want to protect their churches or meetings from those with mental illnesses, and so they give the mentally ill "special" groups or "special" homes. But if we want someone to cease from being a gossip, do we house them with a lot of other gossips? Won’t that reinforce the same behavior? Rather, we should welcome the mentally ill into our churches and Bible studies and prayer meetings (James 2:1). Perhaps we will have to spend extra time on the mentally ill, but that is only because they have more needs.

Do not teach "normalcy" but repentance, humility and love
In Christian discipleship, the goal is not to be a "normal citizen", but a person who is delivered and transformed into one who acts like Jesus. Perhaps that will mean that the mentally ill person will remain mentally ill—but transformed by Christ, nevertheless. The Lord can deliver people from self-destructive behavior and train them to love others, but he may or may not deliver them completely from depression or a social disorder. Our goal, as Christians, is to repent of our sins, to live in humility and to love all people— even so, these should be the goals of the mentally ill Christian.

What the Bible Says About Our Response To The Poor

No matter how great you think you are, if you oppress the poor, God will crush you and make you die. (Psalm 82)

Those who oppress the poor will die at God’s hand, but the righteous poor will be given the wealth of the wicked. (Psalm 37)

The society that listens to God’s word and provides for the poor will have no poor among them. However, because of the disobedience of his people, the poor will always be among the people. (Deuteronomy 15:4-11)

While many love the rich, even the neighbor of the poor hates them. If you hate your neighbor in need, you sin, but if you help the poor, God blesses you. (Proverbs 14:20-21)

The Creator will punish the one who mocks the poor. (Proverbs 17:5)

Sell what you have and give to the poor. (Luke 12:33)

Invite the poor to your parties and events. (Luke 14:13)

Associate with the lowly, treating them as equals, and so love your neighbor as yourself. (James 2:1-8)

The one who is kind to the poor is giving a loan to God and God will repay in time. (Proverbs 19:17)

Until the poor are assisted, God will not listen to our prayers. But after we do justice to the oppressed, then the Lord will answer our cries. (Isaiah 58:6-11)

The economics of God is that those who have more than what they need give to those who have need, so that everyone’s need is met. At another time, one who was given to will give to those who gave, so all give and all receive in their need. (II Corinthians 8:12-15)

When you give, give out of compassion and care for the other person’s need, or it does you no good. (I Corinthians 13:3)

When you give to the poor, do it for God’s sake, not for your own benefit so others will be impressed or give you benefit for your giving. If you give to be rewarded by men, you will receive nothing from God for your work. (Matthew 6:1-3)

Stop HOBOphobia

Countless times a day, homeless people are rejected, falsely accused, harassed, ticketed, and even beat up, all for the "crime" of not having a roof over their heads or of being dirty or of carrying all their possessions in a backpack. The homeless are treated as the outcast of society, as those at the bottom of the economic ladder. Yet the homeless are not the cause of the evils of our society. Nor are they necessarily the outcome of our evils. The homeless are people—people who want to live and love and hope and work, just like you do. Let us not continue to punish those who are lowly in our society, but help them.

Battle the cliches of the homeless

The homeless are "us", not "them"—Many of the homeless are good Christians or children of important citizens. Many of our neighbors and friends have been homeless at one time or another. Homelessness is not an evil, or even necessarily a tragedy—it is a stage of life that many of us have gone through.

The homeless DO work—While most do not have jobs, they do work hard, some harder than people who have "regular jobs". It is not easy to get up at 6am to get to dumpsters before anyone else and climb in many of them in order to get recycled cans. Other homeless volunteer at free hot meals and shelters.

Not all homeless are alcoholics—In general, about one third of the homeless have alcohol or drug abuse problems. Many more have mental health or social difficulties. Many have had tragedies that have overwhelmed them, such as a loss of a job or the suicide of a spouse or family member.

Not all homeless are criminals or violent—Most homeless abhor the crime and violence done by the few homeless who do because it gets them accused. The homeless have the same percentage of theft and violence as those who are housed.

Teach your children and the community not to hate the homeless.
The majority of violent crimes against the homeless are done by middle class youth who feel that they have the right to violently fulfill the prejudices of their parents and community. If our youth and community learn that the homeless are human—people like us—then such crimes will be reduced, even eliminated.

Meet and listen to homeless people
Find out the times and locations of local free meals and sit at the table with the homeless. Find out their real motivations and hopes and desires. You may find that they do not differ that much from your own. Be patient with a homeless person’s oddness—you seem just as odd to them.

Include the homeless in social events
Invite the homeless to community and church functions. However, because many of them do not believe that they would be welcome, certain assurances must be made:
It is not necessary to be well-dressed for the function.
It may be necessary to provide transportation to and from the event.
An announcement may be necessary to make sure that everyone is accepting of the homeless.

Support benevolence organizations that assist the homeless
Volunteer at a free meal, give to an organization that helps the homeless, give blankets and clothes to a shelter. Call a local church to find out where you can help the homeless. As you give and volunteer be a friend to those you are helping—seeing and meeting them— not a distant, nameless Benefactor.

Provide opportunities for the homeless
Provide what the homeless REALLY need—opportunities to shower, socks, clean clothes, an address, a chance to work for money, a chance to do volunteer work for others. Be a friend to the homeless and help them get the resources they need.