Page 163 - Push Back

unavailable. Nor did this Christian man express a willingness to provide me help out of his own
pocket.

Upon entering the church building I had to cross through the gymnasium which also served as an
auditorium for the youth. I had noticed a group of youth present in the building, and it turned out
that they were there to practice for a play. I was unaware throughout this process that these young
people, all of whom appeared to be school-age teenagers, were watching and overhearing my
conversation with the church secretary and assistant pastor.

Having failed to receive any assistance from this minister, I turned around to walk out to my van,
having no idea what I would do next. As I walked through the auditorium some of the teenage
youth stopped me. One of them spoke up and said that they had overheard my conversation with
their assistant pastor. They said they were ashamed and embarrassed that he would not help me.
These young people then began pulling money out of their wallets and pockets and they were
able to scrape together about $40 dollars which they gave to me. With this money I was able to
make it the rest of the way home. I drove up at my parent’s house with no money left and only
fumes in my gas tank.

My experience with the staff of this affluent church had a profound impact upon me. I was very
much reminded of the following words of Scripture:

Matthew 25:42-46
“I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I
was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in
prison, and you did not visit Me.” Then they themselves also will answer, saying, “Lord, when
did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take
care of You?” Then He will answer them, saying, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did
not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.”

In the eyes of Yahweh it was a great failure for the adults of this church to spend millions of
dollars on buildings that have no eternal value, while refusing to give a very small amount of
money to a young son of God who was stranded in a strange city far from his home. The root of
this transgression was selfishness. The church members could personally enjoy the grand
buildings they had constructed, but they perceived no material benefit in the act of caring for the