Insanity

Benjamin Franklin once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

I have heard this quote several times in the last week. I like it. I could apply this to several areas of my life right now. Not to say, I am going insane. However, I think we are all guilty of it. Maybe it is finding ourselves doing the one thing we said we wouldn’t do again. Maybe it is avoiding a problem and expecting it to go away.

Today I helped serve lunch at a homeless shelter. 30+ men live in this shelter. Just yesterday 60 people (men, women, and children) were standing in a long line, waiting to receive a meal. The director said that at Thanksgiving, they serve 500. I am sure you have heard many statistics about the homeless. As I scooped one Iowa corn cob after another onto the plates of the needy, that definition of insanity replayed in my head.

Poverty. We all know it is a problem. We have all see the pictures on T.V. We see them on the street, at the stop light, or maybe even have one in our family. We don’t wish this on them, but really don’t know how to fix the problem as a whole, right? We feel bad, but don’t really DO anything about it. Time after time, we hear about it. Maybe we even say a prayer or two. Most of the time we really don’t get involved and don’t reach out to them though. Time after time we avoid it, and expect the problem to just go away. So, here is my question.... Are we insane?

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your poor brother. Rather be open-handed and freely lend him whatever he needs. De. 15:7-8