I met an old friend today. I will name him “Joe” and that is not his name. He deserves some privacy. My friend was walking in the alley, collecting cans and bottles. He cashes in other peoples’ trash, to earn some money. He also receives social assistance because he is no longer able to work.

“Joe” used to live in an apartment, near us, but he was evicted recently. I don’t know why he lost his apartment, but he still rents a garage storage space nearby, and he told me he is living there, in the hot weather, until he can get a new apartment. Apparently, the garage is comfortable in the summer, and he has at least one other person living with him. If he is caught, he will probably be evicted from the garage.

He will probably find a new place, somewhere, and I hope that happens soon. I gave him all the cans and bottles I could find, and he hurried off. Believe it or not, he is a busy man with many things to do.

He told me, months ago, that he had once lived the homeless life, with a tent for shelter, in a public park. He tried that lifestyle for a while and decided that he hated it. That caused him to move into an apartment, and you know he was evicted from there, recently.

This is my analysis: Joe hates the homeless lifestyle, and he wants to break free from it. The problem is, that hate and dislike are not the only driving forces here. He is very familiar with the lifestyle, and when he is stressed, it is easy for him to fall back into something familiar. I little voice in his head is probably telling him that it might work this time, at least for a while.

The voice of experience is calling to him, and it is speaking over his hatred of that life choice.

Homelessness is a huge issue in our time, and we all know that:

Here’s another story: We needed a few small things, recently, so we decided to go to a dollar store.

That was not a good idea.

I like dollar stores, but I recommend choosing the neighborhood carefully. While we were shopping, I heard some shouting. That store had a female security guard, and she was brave and tough.

One grey-haired and grey-bearded homeless man was shopping, with a backpack. He filled the backpack with many things, and then he tried to leave without paying.

He seemed to think that was a normal way to shop, but the security guard caught him, and a loud conversation followed. I think she took the stolen items from his pack.

There was also a younger man, with a bicycle and a large black dog. He was probably homeless too. I don’t know if he planned to pay for things, but there was a loud shouting match with the security guard, about the dog and the bicycle. Those things were not allowed in the store. Customers like me watched from a safe distance, ready to call the police if the conversations turned violent.

Someone told us that problems like this happen every day, in that dollar store. We have decided to shop somewhere else.

So, is there something to learn here? I am writing as a Christian.

We live in a good neighborhood, and this near-violence is a surprise to me. And my friend “Joe” seems to be stuck in a lifestyle that he hates. Climbing out seems to be impossible when sliding back in is so convenient.

I believe this “them” problem, that only they have, is really “us.” We can’t just judge other people from a distance. Human behavior, in all of us, fails in small ways, and then we repeat many times until it is convenient to fall into that hole and stay there, and even die there.

My friend “Joe” hates that life, but it keeps pulling him back. Probably, the homeless shoplifters would prefer a better life. And probably the tough security guard would like a more peaceful job.

Do you see a spiritual lesson, for us all, in homelessness? If I use a word like “sin” to describe homeless people, I will offend many people. It is safer to use the word “sin” and apply it to all of us. I believe we all have the same weakness, to offend once, and then repeat until it becomes a lifestyle.

We can do that and still live in a comfortable house. It’s not just a homeless problem.

We are told, “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). The concern is not what we do, it is what we do and do and do; what we practice.

My friend “Joe” needs new practices, and a new life, and he knows that better than anyone. His old convenient practices will destroy him, if he doesn’t take a new way, with new practices. I can see the struggle in him, with every conversation.

In my experience, that new life is the work of God. It is too much for our human power. I know that in my own life. That’s why I’m writing as a Christian:

“No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.“

(1 John 3: 6 to 10)