CRN.Info and Analysis

I’ve been the first one up every day this week. That has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is that I can watch the morning news unfettered. So I flip between Mike and Mike, CNN, ESPN and the local fair. I come into a piece late where there’s soft music playing. Jeremy Schaap’s voice over is somber, eulogizing this paragon of American virtue. Heralding this fallen hero as legend, differentiating between lore, legend and fact. Four pages donated to the story can be found on an ABC online article. Speaking of donations, thousands of dollars were spent on keeping this horse alive. Now before my equestrian minded readers get upset with me, I understand that animals can touch your life in a way one rarely expects it to do so. I have a dog, and a couple cats. I love all of them. So I’ll spare you the “It’s a horse for crying out loud!” rant. Although I’d have to admit I’ve thought that once or twice.
But I have to be honest it did make me stop and wonder about American values. It’s 12 degrees outside my house right now. It was 8 degrees when I woke up this morning. The truth is I had no idea how many people were homeless so I did some simple research.

• According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, 1.35 million U.S. children are homeless on any given night. (2000)
• Families are now the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, accounting for almost 39% of the nation’s homeless. (2000)
• The average age of a homeless person in the U.S. is 9 years old.
• 41% of homeless children are under the age of five.
• Nearly 20% of homeless children lack a regular source of medical care.
• Homeless children are hungry more than twice as often as other children.
• Almost 1/3 of low-income families do not have enough money to prepare three meals a day.
• 14% of homeless children are diagnosed with learning disabilities - double the rate of other children.
• 21% of homeless children repeat a grade because of frequent absence from school. Within a single school year, 41% of homeless students attend two different schools, 28% attend three or more.

Go back and read that again. The average age of a homeless person is 9 years old! 9 years old! Do you find that as unbelievable as I do? See, I’ve got nothing against putting money into a horse to keep it alive, but I wonder what it would take to get the same kind of fervor up about the men, women and children who are living without a home. I wonder why we ignore them, but we’ll rally behind a fallen horse and go so far as to call it a hero. I wonder what it would take for us to spend thousands of dollars on helping them.
I’d like to say the church is different but most often it isn’t. In fact, recently my wife was having a conversation with someone who was upset with Rick Warren because he wants to attempt to help the poor and homeless in the world. So not only are these people not doing anything they’re attacking people who are. It boggles the mind, going well beyond reasonable understanding. In my next post, I’ll address some common excuses I hear from people and we’ll look at what Jesus had to say on the subject.