Buy a cup of Starbucks coffee
I shared an article earlier about a lonely man in Starbucks on Jan 17 This is the follow up to the article
Starbucks Revisited
by John Fischer
Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
(James 2:15-16)
A few weeks ago, some of you who have been getting these devotionals for a while may remember I wrote one from a Starbucks in Riverside, California about an apparent homeless guy who was hanging around outside muttering to himself. He came inside, spoke something unintelligible and went on his way. I saw him as a warning in relation to a tendency I have to not want to engage in relationships. Should I get what I really want, I have this man’s behavior to look forward to. It was a wake-up call for an undesirable part of my make-up and an encouragement towards the importance of getting outside of the self. So that’s what I wrote about.
Not surprisingly, I guess, I received a number of replies from some of you wondering why I didn’t buy this guy a cup of coffee. Well now, that’s a really good idea, especially when you consider I got a devotional out of observing him (now two). It would have been the least I could do.
But I was afraid. The man didn’t appear rational. His behavior was very erratic. He’d walk one way and then stop abruptly, turn around and walk another way—not like someone thinking and pacing, but like someone whose mind was short-circuiting, giving him short bursts of chaotic information. He obviously needed to be institutionalized. Was I trained to handle such a person? No.
What if I reached out to him and he grabbed onto me and wouldn’t let me go? What if I reached out to him and he cussed in my face? There was obviously a good deal of hostility trapped inside the man. What if I couldn’t politely extricate myself from the situation? After all, I was on my way to address 1,200 students at a Baptist University. Wasn’t that my priority? I needed time to go over my notes.
I had tons of excuses. Besides, I’m an observer and a sociologist. I study and write about life. Don’t expect me to live it; that might be too hard. Aren’t I the guy writing this? Aren’t I the guy with the pen? Aren’t I supposed to tell you what to do? Did I ask for feedback?
You know, come to think of it, I could have just bought the guy a cup of coffee. It would have been a nice gesture. And everybody who wrote me… Thank you. You have a very good point. The devotional thought this morning is yours: quit making excuses and buy the man a cup of coffee for heaven’s sake.
John Fischer is the Senior Writer for Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals. He resides in Southern California with his wife, Marti and son, Chandler. They also have two adult children, Christopher and Anne. John is a published author and popular speaker.
Starbucks Revisited
by John Fischer
Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
(James 2:15-16)
A few weeks ago, some of you who have been getting these devotionals for a while may remember I wrote one from a Starbucks in Riverside, California about an apparent homeless guy who was hanging around outside muttering to himself. He came inside, spoke something unintelligible and went on his way. I saw him as a warning in relation to a tendency I have to not want to engage in relationships. Should I get what I really want, I have this man’s behavior to look forward to. It was a wake-up call for an undesirable part of my make-up and an encouragement towards the importance of getting outside of the self. So that’s what I wrote about.
Not surprisingly, I guess, I received a number of replies from some of you wondering why I didn’t buy this guy a cup of coffee. Well now, that’s a really good idea, especially when you consider I got a devotional out of observing him (now two). It would have been the least I could do.
But I was afraid. The man didn’t appear rational. His behavior was very erratic. He’d walk one way and then stop abruptly, turn around and walk another way—not like someone thinking and pacing, but like someone whose mind was short-circuiting, giving him short bursts of chaotic information. He obviously needed to be institutionalized. Was I trained to handle such a person? No.
What if I reached out to him and he grabbed onto me and wouldn’t let me go? What if I reached out to him and he cussed in my face? There was obviously a good deal of hostility trapped inside the man. What if I couldn’t politely extricate myself from the situation? After all, I was on my way to address 1,200 students at a Baptist University. Wasn’t that my priority? I needed time to go over my notes.
I had tons of excuses. Besides, I’m an observer and a sociologist. I study and write about life. Don’t expect me to live it; that might be too hard. Aren’t I the guy writing this? Aren’t I the guy with the pen? Aren’t I supposed to tell you what to do? Did I ask for feedback?
You know, come to think of it, I could have just bought the guy a cup of coffee. It would have been a nice gesture. And everybody who wrote me… Thank you. You have a very good point. The devotional thought this morning is yours: quit making excuses and buy the man a cup of coffee for heaven’s sake.
John Fischer is the Senior Writer for Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals. He resides in Southern California with his wife, Marti and son, Chandler. They also have two adult children, Christopher and Anne. John is a published author and popular speaker.
posted by Rochelle @ 6:05 AM
1 Comments:
At 2:46 PM,
darker than silence said…
My question is, "Will Satan just back off?" I know, I know, we're all tired of those guys who think Satan is everywhere. I don't. But I do know where he IS: the church. Not necessarily the institutional church, but the organic church: the body of Christ. He will screw with us because we're indebted to screwing him over. It's a war, not a war of saved vs. unsaved but light vs. darkness, of the rescued going for the hostages, and why wouldn't the terrorist with the hostages try to fend off the rescuers? Sometimes those little 'what-ifs' can be put in by Satan or dark forces in general (yeah, they do exist). If no such counter-measures existed, we would never have to 'go out on a limb of faith.'
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