What's The Difference?

Last night, I had to stop for gas at a janky gas station on the way home from Dallas at 2 AM. The moment I got out of the car, a man approached me asking for money to help him get back to Rockwall (or so he said). He was the second man that night to approach me to ask me for money, and I honestly don't blame them. I feel like I just have a naive and innocent face the moment a stranger approaches me. I love giving when I can spare it, but I also know that when people ask for money like this, it's usually for drugs and alcohol, and not for bettering their situation. However, I don't keep a crate of Vienna sausages in my car like my mom did for the homeless people in Los Angeles, so I continue to be at a loss when wondering how I can help people and avoid getting conned.

It got me to thinking about the mission trips I've been on. On trips where we returned to places we had previously ministered to, you can either do what you're there for and help the local church, or you can criticize the people who manage to make little to no progress in between your visits. A musician goes to Africa to donate guitars and teach how to use them, then comes back a year later to find that no one has practiced. When you aren't the one in charge of the ministry, you are submitting to the one in charge.

There was a girl in our youth group years ago who would go to every youth retreat and youth camp, get demons cast out of her, and come back testifying to how great God is. But she never dealt with her issues, and as Matthew 12:43-45 tells us, that's a good way to invite a lot more demons worse than what she had before. And now a friend of mine is doing something very similar (though I don't think she's possessed), not getting past the issues she's been having for years.

And those got me thinking, what makes me so different from them? Why can I manage to take what I've been given and do something while they keep getting stuck in the same problems? I'm not smarter or more talented than any of these people, nor am I devoid of big issues to deal with. Granted, it sometimes takes awhile, but I always give it to God. It's not like it's easy, either. I have to give it to God, 'cause if I keep crap to myself, I'm having to deal with it on my own, and I'm not up to the challenge.

I just feel like for some reason, God was able to pump me full of this knowledge that I'm crap without Him, but He makes beautiful things (even out of crap). I don't know why some people can't get over their issues, 'cause I know that the only reason I get over mine is because I want to get rid of the junk in me that's holding me back. And I'm willing.