Dumpster Diving

Just like everyday, I went to English on Friday and there sat Jimmy. This is a kid that thinks he knows everything, thinks everything he has to say is the most important thing in the world. He is the classic example of a man that loves to hear his own voice. And if my description of him didn't tip you off, I can't stand him!!!

In English, every week, we have a reading assignment. This week I cracked open the book to find that our story was written by a man that lived on the streets and his experience and expertise on how to dumpster dive. Though he never felt sorry for himself, in reading his experience I felt overwhelming sadness for this man who perfected the art of digging through trash and finding "perfectly good pizza". This is a man, who through this experience, discovered just how much he could live without and how something we throw out because it is scratched or less than perfect is another man's treasure.

And what was Jimmy's reaction to this story, not that anyone asked? That this man was merely lazy. Jimmy is one of those ubber-Christian, uber-conservative types. You know the ones that give Christians the stereotype of judgmental and merciless? He insisted that there are plenty of jobs out there if you are willing to look hard enough and work. He suggested that maybe this man thought all the available jobs were beneath him. I'm telling you, I don't consider myself to be a violent person but I could have punched his lights out right then and there. How can a man that eats out of other peoples' trash think anything was beneath him?! And how can a man that spends his entire day lowering himself into dumpsters and going through every ounce of the stinking rotting trash just to find maybe one thing that he needs to make it until next week, be considered lazy?!

This being said, I am currently reading a book by Max Lucado entitled When God Whispers Your Name, and he talks about the humility of Christ. He says "The Almighty didn't act high and mighty. The Holy One wasn't holier than thou. The One who knew it all wasn't a know-it-all. The One who made all the stars didn't keep his head in them. The One who owns all the stuff of the earth never strutted it." Lord knows that he could have done all of those things and who could blame him? But instead he was humble and because of that, people found him approachable and more than that, they enjoyed being with Jesus.

This really got me thinking. What in my life do I have because of something good I did? Does the bible not tell us that every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17)? So where does Jimmy, a man that claims he is a child of God, get off judging someone because he is less fortunate. Now I know that my detest for Jimmy can get the better of me sometimes, because I too, have found myself falling into this cruel mindset. But I think that if my life was completely up to me, I'd have less than that man who managed to live for years off trash. On top of that, I can honestly say that if my only source of food was out of a dumpster, I wouldn't live for very long at all.

This whole experience taught me to be eternally grateful for all the blessings in my life because there are so many. It also taught me to be compassionate and merciful and not to judge other peoples' circumstances because I have no idea what they might have been through to get them there. Imagine if just one person went up to that man digging through the trash and offered him a warm, maybe even homemade, meal, what kind of impact that could have made on him. We as Christians need to be the light on the hill, a beacon of hope and people that someone can turn to when they are down on their luck and need a compassionate hug or just mercy.