Change for the Better or Worse?

I have found err... scratch that. I didn't have anything to do with it. God led me to this awesome church in Boston. Not the one I originally thought I would attend. I thought I'd go to Park Street Church. Beautiful, Historic Church in downtown Boston with sound theology, but after going a couple of times and attending their college group where no one talked to me and I felt really awkward, I decided it wasn't the place for me. Long story even longer, I go to a church called City Life. We meet on the 6th floor of the Radisson Hotel in downtown Boston. The worship music is really good, the teaching is straight from the Bible and right now we are going through James.

Last Sunday was especially good. We were in the 2nd chapter of James 6-17. The part that really stood out to me was verse 15, 16 "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed, and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?" (KJV) So, Dr. Um (our preacher) pointed out that when it comes to our needs we are very practical about them. I need milk, what do I do? I go to the store and buy milk. I need a new winter jacket to keep me warm in the artic-esque temperatures of Boston, what do I do? I buy a new jacket. And yet with others' needs, we are very spiritual about them. If someone says to you: I need a new jacket, but can't afford it; what do we do? We say "I'll be praying about that for you" or "I'll be praying that God will fill that need in your life" Instead, Dr. Um suggests, we should be very spiritual about our own needs and very practical about others' needs. Let God move through you to fill others' needs.

Every day in Boston I am confronted with people begging for change. They are everywhere. The first three weeks I was here I felt really bad about not giving them anything, but I'm a little ashamed to admit, my attitude has changed dramatically over the last month. All they do is sit there all day long, not moving, just asking for money. I passed a man today who said "How about just a little change folks, something small, like a ten or twenty?" My response: A TEN OR TWENTY? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? well, that's what I said in my head at least. And then the other night I saw a man who was TOTALLY wasted, slurring all his words, barely walking, who was asking for money. So he can get more alcohol?!?
I know I sound really cold and heartless, but I worked really hard to get where I'm at and I work really hard for my salary. Long hours, rewarding, but long. And I do a lot more than sit on my rear and ask for change.

So then I think about how I got where I am: I was born into a moderate income family, who definitely had some poor moments, but my parents paid for my undergraduate education, and I used loans to pay for graduate school. God has given me everything I have and every opportunity, and to the best of my ability I've taken advantage of those opportunities and not let them pass me by. These people may have had parents who could not afford to put them through school, or opportunities to advance in life. So, since I was born into a "better" life situation, does that mean I should pay them to sit there doing nothing?

I don't know what the answer is. I know if God leads me to a situation where a member of the body needs help and God has given me the means to help them, I will. I'm just not sure I'm ready to start handing my change out.