If we followers of Christ have a reputation for turning a blind eye to others' suffering, or at the very least being insensitive, then isn't it time we take a long look in the mirror? 

I agree that Christians ( I am a believer in Christ) tend to turn those away that don't meet their qualifications. It is not the way of Christ to turn anyone away for any reason. And people tend to turn away help and rufuse it because they fell it is better to be hunger and homeless than to have someone shoving Christ in their face, trying to make them believe because they were given help. If you do not turn to God within their time frame then people don't want to help you anymore. And helping those people who want food is easy. It is much harder to go down there, say to that park, and hand out food to those who need it. Whose to say they would refuse. Did you offer. And there are shelter but how many will fill it? How many have been turned away for some reason? There are only so many each shelter can hold. And I am sure just as in Christian's qualifications there may be some qualifications at some shelters. Drugs are not so easily quite and when you get on them it can be hard to stop. I do not agree with using but some people do. For some reason or another. And some people are born with the addiction due to their mothers habits before they were born. I know that there are many different reasons for things. I also know that if you show someone kindness and continue to they are likely to ask you why you are so good to them and that is the chance to share the Gospel. Don't be a Bible pusher. I think that they usually already know why you do what you do as well.

Take the time to go down to that park and share some blankets or food or whatever you can. Get a group together and go. Maybe you can show some of those people how it's supposed to be done. Do it on a night they have a christian concert. Then maybe some of those who attend will learn a thing or two about Christ's love and mercy. Have mercy on those who do those wrong deeds as well because they too need to be shown the truth of Christ's love and mercy for they need it just as much.

amen.

Well the typical Christian thing these days just seems to be to throw money at the problem so they don't have to touch it directly. Its like an broken water heater, its bad to have, but you can just keep throwing away extra money each month in extra energy expenses rather than get on your hands and knees to fix it. We can give money to churches to pump state of the art A/C systems and purchase epic sound systems, or to buy tv commercial time, or we can give to those directly helping solve the problems and ask what changes in our own lives we can make to fix the problem. 

I've never really known any one to actually change their lives after accepting Christ, ony changing their words.

Christians ARE insensitive to others sufferings! (well,most of them anyways).I cannot understand why some Christians will chain themselves to the door of an abortion clinic,yell and scream about the rights of the unborn but at the same time ignore the fact the the brutal Israeli army MURDERS children and commits rape against Palistinian women.American Christians,why is it you can see to take the speck out of your brothers eye but cant see the log thats in your eye!? Stop this one-sided,blind support of the UNholy nation of Israel and call them out on thier sin!!

I am a follower of Jesus, and I don't take offense to this post, as much as I think you have correctly identified a large portion of the American Church.  We largely do go to our nice churches, live in our comfortable suburban homes, and seem content on offering our tithes to support church programs that "reach out" to the poor and disenfranchised.  However, there are those Christians, as one person posted above, who believe there is more to being a Christian than merely donating our money.  We are not only called into ministering hands-on to those who suffer, but we are called to suffer alongside them.  This is a radical call that requires commitment and sacrifice - a complete going against the grain of American culture.  I make no excuses for my brothers and sisters who turn a blind eye to the suffering around us, but I am well aware of the difficulty in making the choice to actively love the poor and suffering around us.

As someone who has deeply felt this convcition in my life, I have committed my life to being an advocate and agent of change and reconciliation among the poor and oppressed in the city.  I have lived in this neighborhood in Los Angeles since I graduated from college, a square mile that is one of the densest populated and least resourced areas in Los Angeles County.  I am part of a Christian organization that's vision is to build relationships with neighbors, mentor children and youth, and bring the Gospel in an unintimidating way through weekly Bible Clubs with children and youth.  As we see needs, we begin new structures, including a tutoring program, exposure trips to colleges, big cities, the mountains, etc.  We spend time in the schools talking to teachers, finding out the ways we can be most helpful in our work with the children and their academics.  And beyond anything, I believe that our presence here, our prayers, our love makes an impact on the spiritual powers that have a hold on the city - the way that satan tries to maintain his hold on the neighborhood through gangs, drugs, alcohol, violence.  Do I think I'm doing anything extraordinary that no one else could do?  Of course not.  But do I think it takes a great deal of consideration and true conviction to be able to life this lifestyle without burning out?  No question.  But ultimately, being a follower of Jesus is exactly as this writer states, it should be a lifestyle, not just something we do when it's convenient or easy. 

The longer I live in the city, the more I realize that it my responsibility is not to sit around and condemn other Christians for not agreeing with me about Jesus' mandate to love the poor, but I need to pray for more workers, pray for others to receive the same level of conviction, and to mentor and teach others about what I believe Jesus says about loving the poor.  As I live out my convictions, I hope that other people will see my actions and be prompted to love those around them as well.  But it is not good enough to expect that my actions alone will prompt others to newfound conviction - I must teach others as well, to let my actions and words speak the same truth and message.  This is when our testimony as believers is most powerful.  May God continue to teach me how to walk in His truth and to teach me His heart.

With regard to the homeless, I think a lot of people, Christian and non-Christian alike, tend to pass them by them by on the cynical assumption that any money given to them will be blown on things like drugs and alcohol...things that got them homeless in the first place. There are also people who pretend to be homeless just for the money too, probably. It's sad that we live in a world where we have to worry about things like that.

@JosephParsons@xanga -  A lot of churches do provide charity for homeless people, but is food and clothes really what those people need? How much love do you think they have gotten in past month? In the past year? The same rich white person who donates money to a charity to pay for a homeless person's food could meet that same person on the street and turn up their nose. And yes, it's true some people don't want help. But just because someone is in a bad situation, it doesn't necessarily mean that they haven't tried to get out of it. And even if they haven't, we are still called to love them.

That being said, I don't think there's anything wrong with holding a Christian concert in a park. Maybe they could try better to reach out to those sharing the park with them although it's not easy to do.

@Xmedic90@xanga - Christians, as a group, aren't any more insensitive than any other group. If anything, they're less so.

While I agree that most Christians are insensitive, not all.  There are some that still ignore the homeless out of fear.  Me, being a decently attractive 18 year old girl, I would feel uncomfortable going up to a random homeless man.  Or any random man, homeless or not.  But still, its no excuse.  Just saying that some ignore them out of fear.  

@StarAndSpiral@xanga - keep your eyes open, you can usually spot the persons you think will be a threat to you... i started 'hanging out' with the homeless when i was 18, im 23 now... most people are happy just to talk for a while, even nodding a hello rather than ignoring them completely can lighten up a day. You should avoid persons who make you uncomfortable, or approach the people in the day where there are other persons around. Of course you absolutely need to keep yourself safe. 

@cutieq24@xanga - this is one of my favourite things to do, i usually like to go with giftcards, this way it is not cash that can be used on drugs if that person has a problem with them, or offer to buy a coffee or something. I know its not the same as teaching someone to fish... but you need to be able to make it to the river if you want to catch anything.

@comeonalice@xanga - Having worked in 'helps ministries' for many years, I would tell you plainly that the majority of these people do not want to address any of the issues that led them to the streets. From an insider's perspective, I can tell you that the ministries at my church and the charities we support locally are always looking for those who truly want to leave the park or the bridge. We have resources put aside for the very purpose of helping people return to society. The problem is not a lack of love on the part of myself or the people I serve with. The problem is that too many of the people we try to help don't really want to do more than 'get by' with a free meal or a jacket and shoes in winter.

Here's another problem. A lot of people like to quote Scripture from the sidelines and moralize in order to make themselves feel superior for having said the right thing, but there are too few people who are actually willing to come down in the trenches with us and try to help these people. The vast majority of the volinteers we have are Christians, and of the local charities we work with, again they are almost exclusively Christian workers. Off the top of my head I cannot think of one of our workers who is not motivated by religious faith.

You can say we're not doing enough, or you think we should do it differently, but I would suggest to you that we are the only ones by and large who are doing anything at all; that is certainly the case in my town, where we have a very large number of homeless (the primary reason being a result of drug abuse here), and it doesn't sit well to receive criticism from outside. I personally find it difficult to listen to anyone on this subject who isn't themselves a volinteer, because I've encountered too many people who enjoy criticizing how we do things when they themselves have never worked with the homeless or poor families.

Talk is cheap. Actions really do speak louder than words. Those who think they know how to do it better should get off their computers, find a church or local mission to plug into, and start serving instead bitching from a safe distance. That's not meant to be mean, just blunt. Either come help us out, or shut the %$&@ up. Seriously, come help. Volinteers get tired. Just one day a month will give somebody a break who needs it.