Crushed Pop Cans: Pros and Cons

So if you have read my previous posts about driving on the island of Roatan, you understand that this death defying feat is like none other you have ever participated in. This blog is an extension of that driving experience and presents a unique problem: To crush or not to crush? If I crush am I showing christian kindness, or if I don't crush am I being mean?

I know! You are all thinking... crushing; especially when it comes to our human brothers and sisters ...according to the scripture is never a good thing.

Well hear me out. And help me decide to crush or not to crush.

I drive by the Roatan dump everyday whether going to the Learning Center to work, going to see family, or going to church. In the process of gathering and preparing recyclable things for pick up, the trash workers collect aluminium cans. They collect lots of them! When the heap of cans become a small mountain, they spread them out onto the main road, usually covering 1 or 2 lanes. The idea is that the cars and trucks pass over the cans, crushing them so they can now be sold to the recycling person.

On this particular day I approached the heap of cans on the road and had the option, to crush or not. Only one side of the road was covered with cans, while the other was open. A large truck passed on the open side of the pile while I waited for him to clear out of the way. I could either swerve to the left and avoid the cans or drive straight through them to crush them. As I waited, I pondered; " Am I doing a kind christian service by helping them to get their cans crushed or am I being mean by by skirting the mess. The problem is a real moral dilema people!

In the story of the good Samaritan, a man was robbed, beaten and left for dead alongside the road. A priest and a Levite passed and walked out of their way to avoid the situation. A Samaritan passed and had compassion on the man. He bound is wounds, placed soothing oil on his skin, took him to an in for care and paid for it all. Jesus asked the listening crowd who was the neighbor and they replied the one who had mercy on him.

As I scanned the neighborhood I thought;

"up that hill is where the mother of my 3 students live."

"her husband is a dump worker"

"that student used to live right here on the main road."

These people are my neighbors.

I had made my decision!

Take my survey

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• 0%Should the cans be crushed as a kindness or not?
• 0%YES
• 0%NO

Please take the survey and let me know what you think about this moral dilemma in the comment section of this blog. I will reveal my decision to crush or not in my next blog.

On a somewhat different note, a mission team visited Sew Blessed Ministry and really showed christian kindness and fellowship. The team was building a house on the top of a very crooked and steep mountain during one of the hottest weeks here on the island. Four people found this task difficult and so they came to the Learning Center to help out in our ministry. They picked through scraps of fabric; sorting out the unuseable pieces, cutting logos out of donated T-shirts, cutting strips and squares for craft projects as well as cleaning up the mess of used but still good fabric pieces. It was menial and boring work but necessary for us to organize inventory and clean up the room.

I so appreciated their help and the great time of fellowship, prayer and storytelling we shared. Rich, Dayna, MaKinley and Sade were wonderful Samaritan neighbors as they helped cheerfully and willingly. Thank you so much.