CROSSING SOCIAL LINES

I live in a mostly middle class world. And I don't think that's what the Lord wants. I think we are to bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6), that we are all one Body with different members, and that each member belongs to all the others (Romans 12). I don't want we who are middle class to be out of touch with the rest of the world. Its tempting to stay there and to not enter into problems of the other classes. How can I know about the struggles of others if I never hang around them? I came in touch in a fresh way today with people who are not like me, and that was a good thing. I went to a funeral today. Let me tell you about it. It was for a 22 year old woman who has struggled with drugs her whole life, because she was introduced to them as she ran drugs for her parents as a child. She got married and left that environment to try and get back on track. She wanted to be a lawyer to help others. She had a husband and a woman (my friend) who poured love into her and who tried to help her to change. She would stay clean for a while but always go back. She described it as being trapped in her own body and desperately longing to be free. Back and forth, in and out of the addiction. Last week she was robbed and murdered when she was downtown at 3AM trying to buy drugs. So that's the person whose funeral I attended. I know it is hard to hang out with people who are different from us, but I believe God calls us to not live sheltered lives away from everyone else's struggles. There are thousands of verses in the Bible talking about helping and loving the poor. Today, I encourage you to obey those verses and reach out to those who are different from you.