Just a 'Feel-Good" Story?

I have been moved by the recent story of Ted Williams.  No, not the guy who once hit over .400 for the Red Sox, but a homeless man living in Ohio who has a "golden radio voice."  In case you haven't seen it yet, here's the video:



Now, this guy has great voice!  And I am genuinely thrilled that the Cleveland Cavaliers stepped up and gave him a job.  I am thrilled that he has been reunited with his 90 year old mother.  It's great to see a guy go from rags to riches!!  Reminds me of the movie with Jamie Foxx called "The Soloist" - homeless guy on the streets who has a great talent and finds redemption.

But my heart aches for all the other homeless people who do not have great radio voices or who couldn't play the cello in a closet let alone in a performance hall.

What about them?  Why is it that we are so quick to overlook people who can't help themselves?  I include myself in this...I admittedly am attracted to the emotional, feel good stories of a guy like Ted Williams getting another chance.  How many times have I failed to even give spare change to the guy on the corner?  Too many to count I am sad to admit. 

This blog is about love.  Too many times we take the easy way out and love those that we deem to be worth loving.  I mean, it's so much easier to love a guy with a great voice, or a cello player or a decorated Army veteran.  I'm not here to suggest we shouldn't help those types of people, but what about the guy who has had both arms amputated?  What about the woman who was disfigured after being beaten by her abusive husband for years?  What about the children in orphanages who have down-syndrome?  Where's the feel-good story there?  No one will get any media attention for  helping them and I'd like to find a way to step out of my comfort zone and pay attention to the ones that we normally overlook.

Remember all those "WWJD" bracelets and bumper stickers that were so popular years ago?  I do and I ask the question, what would Jesus do?  Would He find the one guy with special talent and exalt him to some position and give him a house and food and have him appear on talk shows?  I don't think so and here's why:  time and time again we saw that Jesus spent time with the "outcasts" of society and I believe that he would paid attention to the ones nobody loved.  Lepers...no one would go near these people, but Jesus did.  Blind, lame, bleeding, possessed...these were not people with special gifts, but rather things that people considered curses and yet Jesus went to them and healed them and then made a big scene and got lots of attention as a result.  No, he didn't do that did He?  He didn't look for attention.  He didn't hold press conferences and tell the world how he healed a blind guy, or stopped a woman's bleeding.  He healed, He fed and He gave a second chance to people who had no hope of ever getting it.

I am thrilled for Mr. Williams and I will keep tabs on his story and I genuinely hope he stays sober and clean and takes this opportunity to change his life.  But I pray that I will remember the ones who are still standing in the cold without food or water and without hope. 

Genuine love means taking the road less travelled.  Genuine love means walking past the cameras, past the ones with special gifts and helping those who have no hope.  Genuine love means sacrificing what we value as good no matter the cost.