We All Have a Story
Lecil.
Lecil is his name.
Lecil has a story to tell.
We all come from different backgrounds. The rich, the poor. Black people, white people. Republican, Democrat. Legal citzen, undocumented person. Gay, straight. Christian, and those that despise Christianity.
“…there is one thing that we all have forgotten: humanity.”
Whatever and whoever you are, or define yourself as, there is one thing that we all have forgotten: humanity. We are all human. We all have flaws, we all struggle differently, but we have to lean on each other. We should be able to, at least.
I had the pleasure of meeting Lecil at my local Wal-Mart. I asked him if I could take his picture, and after explaining that I feel like it would make a powerful photo and after hearing his story, he agreed. You see, Lecil is a human, just like you and I. We didn’t talk politics, we didn’t talk about how many followers we had on social media, nor did we even talk about the current state of our country. For Lecil, there are more important things. Like food, water, and wondering where he is going to sleep tonight. Some of you may say, “I bet he’s got a home,” “Don’t give him money, because he’ll buy drugs and alcohol,” “I bet he’s got more money in the bank than I do,” “Lecil probably drives a nicer car than me,”… Etc. You get the drift. Well, all that may be true. It may not be true. But guess what, it’s not my responsibility to vet his story. Lecil knows the truth. It’s his life he’s lived.
It’s my job to listen. To treat him with the respect he deserves. His life may be different from mine and yours, but it’s not our job to criticize Lecil for standing, or in his case sitting, on the corner and holding a sign. I don’t know Lecil’s background, other than the story he gave me. Which is a story of success, followed by tough times. I have no valid reason to doubt his story. Regardless, I think we all need to step back and re-evaluate our intentions as humans and some of us, Christians.
While the country is in complete turmoil over politics, we’ve got cases like this in our country, states, and cities. Everywhere. I couldn’t begin to imagine what the number of cases are, but my guess would be a number that is staggering. I hate to even use the word “cases,” because I feel like that places a number on this man. Just making him another statistic. But he’s not a statistic. This man has a heart. He has feelings, just like you and me. He probably couldn’t care any less what’s going on in Washington D.C., and truth be known he’s probably happier than some us, as a result. So while I’m sitting here putting my thoughts to paper, in my warm house, sitting on my comfy couch, I cannot begin to express how incredibly blessed I am.
We often complain about what life throws at us, and sometimes we just cannot handle it. We complain about everything; myself included. But how would we handle what life has thrown at Lecil? Would we rise above it, or would we fall? Would we help those that had similar experiences, or would we shun them?
I was raised in church. Literally, every time the door was open, I was there. Does that make me a good person? Absolutely not. Does that make me any more Christian that the occasional church atendee? Nope. What I have noticed lately is that the church seems to be more worried about politics than humanity. To be clear, when I’m talking about the “church,” I’m referring to the body of believers, not the physical location. And no… not every Christian is like this. I’m just seeing it more. Maybe it’s happening more often? Maybe I’ve just started to open my eyes and notice it, because I too, was one that worried myself to death about politics.
“Denominations are like politics.”
I’m no Bible scholar, but what I do know is that Jesus, the man who came to save the world from an eternal life in hell, didn’t hang out with all the cool kids. A great example was the woman at the well. Something the church body has seemed to have forgotten. We often associate church with the four walls; the physical building. But it goes beyond that. Denominations are like politics. They’re man made. Being a Christian has nothing to do with denomination; it’s all about, or should be all about, kingdom work. For example, loving someone, regardless of your personal beliefs, like Lecil. Love like Jesus loved.
Sure, people have to help themselves, but at what point do we draw the line? I honestly don’t have that answer. What I do know, is that while I sat in my car this morning, crying like a little baby, I come to realize that we have to do better. We have to love, unconditionally. We have to care more about what really matters. I have no control over what happens in the White House. I can control my actions. I had control when I asked this man about his story. I had control as I listened to him. I tried to show compassion. Today, it hit me hard that there are more important things than what is going on with politics. To be perfectly honest, this man is probably a better person than a lot of politicians I’ve met, from both parties. But that is subjective. Lecil has had a rough past. He told me he spent time in prison, but I know some politicians that did things and never got caught. It doesn’t make them better. They just didn’t get caught.
“Being nice costs us nothing, but gives us everything.”
Trump, Biden, the Democratic Party, nor the Republic Party, should be treated as a demigod. But that’s what we’re doing. We are placing our time and energy on things that, in the end, won’t save us. What will save us as a civilization, is being nice to one another, listening, and giving grace. Leading like Jesus. Being friends with people that are different. Being a nice person. Being nice… that seems to be the general genre of most of my articles. Being nice costs us nothing, but gives us everything.
So today, put down the politics, regroup, and be nice to someone who has a difference of opinion or cultural status. I promise you it will change your life, as it did mine.