People Lover

After a long, hot two-mile climb up the mountain, we stood at the top to catch our breath. Behind us stood the TiBoukan school. In front of us spread Haiti’s Leogane Plain. No less than fifty men, women and children gathered around. Soon we’d go house to house delivering supplies. But for the moment we allowed ourselves a short rest and long drink from our water bottles.

Knowing we’d be gone most of the day, a few people had packed snacks, things like granola bars or dried fruit. One girl pulled out a container of applesauce, peeled back the cover and slurped it out of the cup.

A stray dog approached looking for a scrap. Seeing the dog, the girl bent over and gave her applesauce to the dog. He lapped up every last dribble of the sauce while the villagers looked on. In an instant I became painfully aware of the dozens of hungry children and mothers and fathers surrounding our group. And how insulting her gesture must feel to them. Many of them looked just as gaunt as the stray dog, ribs outlined through their skin and skin and hair showing evidence of malnutrition.

The girl didn’t realize what she’d done. An innocent mistake. She’s just a child after all. But isn’t this the epitome of our American mentality? We’re more generous with our animals than we are with our neighbors.

I wonder if that’s what Jesus wanted us to understand when he healed the woman on the Sabbath (Luke 13:10-17). She’d been a part of their “church” for a while. Each sabbath she arrived sick, crippled, in need of mercy. Each time, she went home without it. Looking to excuse themselves from serving, the religious people hid behind the Sabbath’s “no-work” rule, even though they returned home to care for their animals. Jesus called them out on it. And I believe He’s calling US out on it.

I’m an animal lover. But I need to be a people lover even more.