Last week I was hurrying though the
My acquaintance is nameless because, as far as I can gather, is deaf and was never taught any language skills—resulting in him not being able to communicate except through grunting and gesturing. He’s a middle-age man, not a student, who likes to hangout on campus.
I smiled and gave him a hug as I’ve often done in the past and then began moving to the Southern Accent newspaper office so I could work. But before I reached it he stopped me. With his right hand he began rubbing his stomach in a circular fashion.
“Oh, your hungry,” I said and he smiled back.
He then pointed downstairs to where the cafeteria was.
“The cafeteria won’t open for another five minutes,” I said, trying to figure out a way to disengage and finish my assignments.
He opened his wallet and showed me he only had a dollar.
“Oh…you’ll only be able to buy yogurt with that much money,” I said.
He nodded his head as if he understood me, rubbed his belly again and started walking downstairs to the cafeteria. I took that as my cue to head in the opposite direction. I looked over my shoulder at him in time to see him glance back at me with a puzzled look. At that moment I realized that he wanted me to join him. I don’t have time, I thought. I kept walking away when it hit me: He was hungry and he wanted me to buy him lunch. I have work to do, I thought and I turned my back on him as I walked through the office doors.
Later that day I thought about what a hypocrite I was. I used not having time and busyness as an excuse not to help my nameless acquaintance. But the reality is I would have gone to the cafeteria if it had been any one of my other friends inviting me. The only reason I didn’t go with him was because he wasn’t worth my time then. I began reflected on a passage from Ellen White’s Thoughts From the Mount of Blessings…
“The standard of the golden rule is the true standard of Christianity; anything short of it is a deception. A religion that leads men to place a low estimate upon human beings, whom Christ has esteemed of such value as to give Himself for them; a religion that would lead us to be careless of human needs, sufferings, or rights, is a spurious religion. In slighting the claims of the poor, the suffering, and the sinful, we are proving ourselves traitors to Christ. It is because men take upon themselves the name of Christ, while in life they deny His character, that Christianity has so little power in the world. The name of the Lord is blasphemed because of these things.” (Mount of Blessings, pg. 136).
What’s really sad is my friend Ezequiel Vasquez had shown me that previous quotation at the library several minutes before I ran into my nameless acquaintance. I even remember agreeing with Ezequiel with what we just read and thanked God for that insight…
And minutes later I walk out, betray Christ, and blaspheme God’s name by turning my back on a hungry brother in need.
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