Talking to a homeless guy - again

A few blogs ago I talked about talking to a homeless guy in our area named Chris. Today we went walking in the park, and there he was again, sitting on a picnic table. I went over and sat next to him, reintroducing myself, and began talking. We chatted about what he had been up to, where he was from, and how long he had been in the area. Evidently homelessness was a chosen profession for him. He didn't have to be there - he wanted to be there. I asked him what he did all day, and he said he talked to people or tried to find food. It struck me that he didn't have to work, pay taxes, by gas, pay rent, register his car, buy groceries, talk on the cell phone, return emails, or pretty much anything I have to do everyday. I decided I wanted to be homeless.

Chris does whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Life isn't always easy, but it is what he has chosen, and he seems very happy doing what he does. We didn't talk about Jesus. We didn't talk about getting him a job. We didn't talk about what he was running from. We just talked. It was weird and kinda cool. I really did walk away feeling a little jealous. His worries were little compared to mine. He had to find a place to sleep, and enough food, but it was obvious he wasn't starving - he had a few extra calories around the waist. I found myself asking myself why I lived the way I lived. I should have been trying to convince him to live like us 'normal' people, but instead, I was wanting to live a little lighter, like he does.

Where did we learn we had to have more, and that 'more' has to increase every year? Where did we buy this bill of goods that says we have to have a car and a house and a job and the American dream? Are we really any happier or more well off than Chris? Most of us work hard, selling our lives so we can give it all away so we can have a place to sleep and some food. Is it worth it? I'm not saying we should all go be homeless. I am saying that maybe we 'normal' people are the ones that need the changing, the saving, the help.

In parting, I asked Chris if he needed anything. He said he needed a 5 gallon bucket, cut in half, that he could use for washing in a little hotspring pool he had found. He said it wasn't deep enough to get all the way in, so the bucket would help. And he said he could use some food.
So a couple hours later we found him hitchhiking along the road, and we stopped and picked him up. I handed him a cut off bucket and some food. Not because that's what Christians are supposed to do, but because I wanted to live a little lighter today.

"When you have done it to the least of these, my brothers, you have done it unto me". I wonder if Chris was the 'least of these', or I was.