Something about Chuck

God told Chuck to help people. Every day, he dreams of helping people. He wants to house the homeless, feed the hungry, tend to the sick. And he does. He spends hours and hours tending to the downtrodden of the world. But Chuck has a problem. Chuck has a family. Chuck’s family is homeless. Chuck’s family is hungry. Chuck’s family is sick. Chuck has degrees. He could find a job that pays enough to care for his family, but that’s not where his passion lies, that’s not what God told him. If Chuck wants to continue his altruistic work, it will cost his family greatly. What does Chuck do? Can he be faulted for caring too much? Is following God worth sacrificing family?

I think about Chuck a lot. I can’t help but admire his passion for humanitarian work, and abhor his neglectfulness at the same time. I don’t have a good answer for what Chuck should do because I don’t understand Chuck, no matter how hard I try. Why does Chuck care for the world more than his family? Why can’t Chuck put aside his passion for the world and have passion for his family? Does Chuck realize how much pain and anger he will foster from those he swore to protect? Does Chuck truly believe that God told him to do these things, or is he lying to me and to himself? I wish I could jump into Chuck’s head and flip through all the file cabinets, methodically combing through documents until I have all the puzzle pieces to solve the conundrum that is Chuck.

Chuck has asked me what he should have done differently. I have told him that I do not know. I don’t know that Chuck could have done differently if he wanted to. Perhaps his programming dictates that no other course of action could have been taken. Perhaps this God is real and his word truly is the law. Yet, Chuck is still responsible for his actions. And the consequences run so very deep, perhaps deeper than any of us know.

I hope Chuck figures it out. Not for his sake, but for his family’s sake.

See you Friday.