Life Walking?

We are taking a break from building more beds and have been focusing on mentoring William and his family. They are in a desparate situation. Maslow's hierarchy is definitely in effect.

William needs to get a job, but saying “get a job” is not mentoring. There have been some significant barriers and obstacles to him getting work. Some of these are in his mind, some are related to his background, and some reside in the “machine” which is stacked against people in his situation.

It is all very messy and what to recommend is not always clear. How do you show love and be generous but not act in a way that, in the long run, perpetuates his current situation? If we knew the answer to this, we would unite the Democrats and Republicans.

We will make errors. Which error are we prepared to minimize? A Type I (false positive) or Type II (false negative) error? By reducing one type of error, you increase the chance of making the other type of error. That is, do we err on the side of giving/helping and increase the chance of enabling? Or do we err on the side of minimizing enabling and increase the chance of being mean (antonym of generous)?

Another issue we have to consider. There are innocent children in the equation. In the case of parental decisions and mistakes, is it just for the children to suffer because of the parents?

You have an answer to these questions? Everybody seems to have an opinion about these things in general, but it’s all philosophical and political until you are faced with a situation where people’s well-being is at stake. To muddy the waters even further, throw into the mix the radical statements of Jesus, which turn conventional wisdom on its head.

As we speak, we are walking through this mine field. I don’t know what to do except pray for and use wisdom, push back the distractions, and listen for the whispers coming from the depths.

How do you think our small group discussions go? This is harder (and more stimulating and interesting) than discovering life’s purpose in 40 days. Oh, how a mentor would be so sweet right about now.