Compassion or cuffs; where do we draw the line?

Tuesday True Tale #53

Teddy is a homeless man who has visited my church a few times. He is disruptive, filthy, rude, greedy, and refuses to listen. Because I believe that everyone should hear the truth of the Gospel, Teddy was allowed to remain with one of our men nearby to keep him under control. I removed him from the church when he became disruptive and belligerent. He was asked not to return. He did return, and when he came in, I insisted that he remain silent throughout the Bible study, and he did. When he returned the next time, the same rule applied, he had to stay quiet and listen, but he didn’t and was ushered out again. When Teddy returned once more, I stopped him at the door and told him that he had lost his privileges because he did not adhere to the rules during his last two visits. He was infuriated, violently pounding on the door and using the most abusive, profane, and threatening language you can imagine. He was outside, but the door remained locked as he forcefully pulled on the handle. I watched and waited until he gave up and walked away—more about Teddy in a bit.

What is the greatest good we can do? “Summum bonum” is a Latin phrase meaning “greatest good.” It is defined as the principle of goodness in which all moral values are included or derived. Trying to identify the greatest good from a human philosophical perspective is problematic. By the above definition, long, inconclusive debates would carry on endlessly about what should or should not be included as a “moral value.” The greatest good can never be determined without a clear standard of what “good” means. The standard would have to be objective and authoritative.

Believers must use the word of God as their standard because the guesswork is removed, self-interest is eliminated, subjectivity has no voice, and God becomes the standard. Imperfect humans cannot determine the greatest good, so we are wise to submit to the highest authority. The Bible defines God as good; Psalm 34:8, Nahum 1:7, James 1:17, Romans 8:28, Psalm 110:5, 31:19, 23:6, 1 Timothy 4:4. He is also perfect and lacking in nothing, so God is perfectly good. Augustine wrote, “The highest good, then which there is no higher, is God, and consequently, he is unchangeable good; it’s truly eternal and truly immortal.” God is our model for being and pursuing the greatest good. We fulfill our mission as believers to be Christlike by doing the greatest good. This sometimes puts us in a difficult situation because knowing the greatest good can be difficult.

In my years of inner-city ministry, I’ve encountered countless individuals who need immediate physical or financial help to varying degrees. Some remain in their situation by choice, while others have fallen on hard times through victimization or poor decisions, but we must remember that compassion sees the need, not the cause. How do we determine the most compassionate “greatest good” for people? After 18 years, I wish I had a universal answer, but I don’t. I know this; according to scripture, the greatest good I can do for others is God's greatest good for me, offering the priceless gift of salvation and loving me unconditionally! We must also remember that Christ often took care of physical needs before he met spiritual needs. I think this is critical in our decision process of how we help.

Teddy showed up once more. He was not allowed in and began the same violent behavior. This time I called the police, and in less than two minutes, Ten of Detroit’s finest surrounded Teddy as he stood in the street outside our church; his behavior was unchanged. Whatever the police said, he ignored. They cuffed him, helped him into the police car then drove away.

I felt only sorrow and compassion for this disheveled old soul, questioning if I had done the greatest good for him. This man, with such a difficult life, had heard the gospel and experienced the love of Christ through our people. We were patient, accommodating, polite and helpful. Yet his shadowy heart and troubled mind remained unaffected, seemingly impenetrable, and I was saddened by it. When word got around our church, some said they were relieved and never felt safe around him. Someone said, “Well, maybe this is his wake-up call.” I think tough love is real and necessary. Imposing difficult situations on others for their benefit is tough, but it should be equally tough on us. We should find no pleasure in it, only sorrow and hope that our actions that impact them will genuinely turn them around.

Teddy’s heart is not impenetrable, and the Holy Spirit can truly bring that wake-up call he needs. This is the Spirit’s role. Ours is to communicate, not crush or convict. We must take bold steps toward the greatest good to share Christ’s love, care, and redemption. We must take bold steps rooted in our desire for their greatest good, even if it means handcuffs for them and heartache for us!

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Colossians 3:12