Christmas Spirit Indeed

So it's normal to see (and get rather desensitized by) people holding signs and asking for money at the intersections around here. And around the holidays, many of the local churches take a note from the less fortunate, and send out representatives to employ a similar strategy to ask for the monetary assistance of those who are stuck in traffic.

Today, as I was finally trying to end my shopping procrastination for the season, I observed something that I found a bit disturbing. As the grizzled, self-described (according to his sign) homeless veteran hobbled along the median next to the string of cars while the majority of drivers awkwardly tried not to make eye contact, the church folk strode confidently past him whilst dressed in their Sunday best.. and they proceeded to beat him to every car to ask for money for the new church addition that they were advertising on their signs. As a matter of fact, while I was at the stoplight, they made almost two laps up and down the same row of stale traffic before he even got halfway.

As I drove away from this scene when the light turned green, I couldn't help but wonder if they even remotely realized the irony in what they were doing. I also couldn't help but wish that I had possessed the moral fortitude at the time to point it out to them. Regardless of your religion, I believe the foundation of any church is in your heart. Worry about reinforcing that before you worry about raising money to add an addition onto some building.

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