they're people too

They’re people too. Those people who are the outcasts of our society. The homeless, the addicted, the mentally ill. For some reason, we’ve come to think they’re not really people.

We treat them like they’re not people. We refuse to make eye contact when we pass them on the street. We think its okay to call them names. To treat them as if they’re less than human. We teach our children this.

How did we ever come to think this was acceptable?

They’re people too. They have feelings. They have ears to hear what we say. They have eyes to see our looks of disgust in their direction. They feel pain. They know when we look down on them.

The sad thing is when some of them get used to this. And think this treatment is what they deserve. This is a travesty. It never should have come to this.

We’ve done something terribly wrong to get to this point in society. It shouldn’t be some peoples’ job to befriend these people. All of us should be doing this in our own small way as we go. For no other reason than they’re people too.

Take a moment to hear their stories. Take the time to care. You just might be amazed by the stories you hear. Stories that could be any of ours if things had gone differently or we had made different choices.

Some of them don’t want to be where they are. They’re looking for a chance to change. They’re reaching out for help. When we stop to give them a chance we can truly change their world. Not all will accept or even want our help. We can’t force it on them. But maybe that moment of caring will be the start of change for them.

Be smart about it. But don’t excuse poor treatment of them all based on just a few.

They’re people too. We must learn to treat them as such. It’s the only acceptable choice as followers of Christ.