I hear it all the time.

“I have a heart for the poor.”

That is beautiful. Can you name one?

“I think the Church should should get out of the building and love their neighbors.”

I agree. Do you know the names of neighbors living beside you?

“I wished the Church would stop brushing off mental illness and intellectual disabilities and create an environment where it is talked about and embraced.”

Absolutely. Are you in a personal relationship with someone (outside of your family) living with a mental illness or intellectual disability?

Preaching Only What You Practice

Everyone has an opinion. I have a few myself. It’s just now we live in a culture where anyone who can type can share them with anyone who can read (like I am doing right now–ironic, eh?). Don’t get me wrong, I am for sharing and airing opinions (obviously). But I am for sharing and airing opinions that stem from personal experience rather than theoretical conviction.

I am in the blessed position to work with men and women, those some would deem “conservative” and others “liberal,” who have determined to give a significant portion of their lives away to serve the last, least, lonely and left-out in our society. These people are putting boots to the ground to serve the poor, the mentally ill, the intellectually disabled, the homeless, and are reaching out to their neighbors living next door and across the street. They know their names. They know their stories. They have integrity when they “preach” and when they do, I listen.

Yet I find myself surrounded by other men and women, “conservative” and “liberal” who have determined to preach at or to the last, least, lonely and left-out. These are the people who do not know the names of the poor, the mentally ill, the intellectually disabled, the homeless, or even their next door neighbors. Instead they know the names of commentators of MSNBC, Fox News, and other media pundits. So when they speak, I shake my head at the profundity of ignorance that flows from their mouths and am saddened that they are unable to see their hypocrisy and short-sightedness.