What's the Right Decision?
This is a question that haunts me and causes that empty feeling in my stomach every time a new project is posted or I get off the phone with someone requesting help.
How could I even know the right answer or make the right choice for someone else or create the right plan for volunteers to step into?
For instance.. Becoming homeless may be the best decision for someone I’m trying to help. WHAT!!!?? Someone on the street is a good thing? NO.. NOT at all. I hate even thinking about that. But when am I enabling versus helping?
The questions I know I need to ask are more like, “when am I prolonging some one’s dependence vs. getting them to a point of real change?" “Is providing financial support or temporary housing helping them fight their way out of their situation?"
I am quickly realizing that I need to ask the right questions and provide options for the people we serve, not just “fix" their situation. Ultimately, if I/we are going to keep some one’s dignity and provide lasting change, the person we’re serving remains in charge of their own destiny.
And you know what…Chances are, people may like their current situation a lot more than the road to a new place. Because, as you and I know in our own lives, transformation is in it’s very nature, breaking down something to make something new. It’s always for the better.
Christ has all the power to radically transform our lives if we’re willing to let Him deep in those places that need transformed the most. He always transforms us into the image of GOD, so why is it so hard?