Made for More
Justice and Mercy for the Homeless
“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” — Amos 5:24
I am the Lord your God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, the One who sees the hearts of men and weighs their deeds. I speak now not in whispers, but with the thunder of truth and the fire of righteousness. Hear Me, O people of this land, for I have seen your cities, your streets, your shelters, and your silence. I have seen the tents pitched beneath your bridges, the needles scattered in your parks, and the fear in the eyes of your children. I have seen the compassion of some and the cowardice of others. And I say to you: it is time to rise.
It is time to stop treating the homeless as a protected class immune from the consequences of their actions. It is time to stop confusing mercy with indulgence, and grace with lawlessness. For I am a God of justice and of mercy, and I do not bless disorder.
“You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe.” — Deuteronomy 16:19
The law is a sacred trust. It is the backbone of civilization, the guardian of the weak, and the restraint of the wicked. When I gave Moses the tablets on Sinai, I did not carve exceptions for the poor, nor did I grant immunity to the rich. Justice is blind, not indifferent. It sees not the face of the offender, but the weight of the offense.
Yet in your cities, you have allowed a new injustice to take root. You have created a class of people who, because of their suffering, are no longer held accountable for their actions. You excuse theft as survival. You excuse violence as trauma. You excuse addiction as identity. And in doing so, you have not helped the homeless; you have abandoned them.
Theodore Roosevelt, a man of grit and moral clarity, once walked the streets of New York as Police Commissioner. He did not flinch before the powerful, nor did he coddle the criminal. He believed in the dignity of every man, and therefore in the responsibility of every man. He enforced the law not with cruelty, but with courage. And I say to you: do likewise.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” — Proverbs 27:6
You call it compassion to let a man rot in his addiction. You call it mercy to let a woman scream through the night, naked and alone on your sidewalks. You call it tolerance to let your parks become encampments of despair. But I call it betrayal.
True compassion does not leave a man where he is. It lifts him. It confronts him. It calls him to more. My Son, Jesus Christ, did not say to the adulterous woman, “Go and continue.” He said, “Go and sin no more.” He did not excuse the sin. He forgave it, and then called her to righteousness.
So too must you. You must build programs not merely to house the homeless, but to heal them. Not merely to feed them, but to form them. You must demand of them what you demand of yourselves: virtue, discipline, and the pursuit of goodness.
“Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death.” — Proverbs 19:18
Let your shelters be more than beds. Let them be schools of virtue. Let them teach self-control, emotional regulation, and the dignity of work. Let them offer not just therapy, but truth. Not just comfort, but challenge.
Addiction is not a lifestyle. It is a bondage. And I am the God who breaks chains. But you must not reinforce those chains with your policies. You must not hand out needles and call it harm reduction. You must not legalize chaos and call it equity. You must not lower the standard and call it love.
Instead, raise the standard. Call men and women to rise. Give them the tools to do so. Offer them structure, accountability, and hope. And when they fall, as they will, pick them up; but do not excuse the fall. Teach them to walk.
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.” — Isaiah 5:20
You have a duty not only to the homeless, but to the housed. To the children who walk to school. To the elderly who sit on their porches. To the shopkeepers who sweep their sidewalks. You must not sacrifice the safety of the many for the dysfunction of the few.
When a man commits a crime, he must face the law. Whether he sleeps in a mansion or a tent, he must answer for his deeds. This is not cruelty; it is justice. And justice is love in action.
Do not let your compassion become complicity. Do not let your mercy become madness. Hold the line. Enforce the law. And do so with dignity, not disdain.
“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free?” — Isaiah 58:6
O Church, where are you? You were once the refuge of the broken, the reformer of the drunkard, the restorer of the fallen. You built hospitals, shelters, and schools. You preached repentance and redemption. But now, too often, you echo the world’s excuses instead of proclaiming My truth.
Return to your calling. Feed the hungry, yes; but also teach them to feed themselves. Clothe the naked, yes, but also teach them to walk in righteousness. Love the sinner, yes, but hate the sin.
Do not be ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation. And salvation is not merely a change of circumstance, it is a change of heart.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9
This work will not be easy. You will be called harsh. You will be misunderstood. But do not fear. For I am with you. And I will bless the work of your hands if you walk in truth.
Be like Roosevelt, who faced down corruption with a square jaw and a steady hand. Be like Nehemiah, who rebuilt the walls with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other. Be like Christ, who wept over Jerusalem and then cleansed the temple.
Do not grow weary in doing good. For in due season, you will reap, if you do not give up.
You must hold the homeless accountable, not because you despise them, but because you love them. You must enforce the law, not because you are heartless, but because you are just. And you must build programs that do not merely sustain life, but transform it.
This is the way of the Lord. This is the path of righteousness. Walk in it.
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” — Micah 6:8