“He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” – Proverbs 19:17
The cold weather is least kind to those among us who spend their days outside, especially the poor and the homeless. When the stinging cold of winter settles in, its pain is felt by so many. When Robert Magiet was driving to work on a cold Chicago day, he saw an opportunity to bless those who are affected by the cold and hunger.
Robert Magiet owns several restaurants in Chicago. Each place is comfortable and well heated. Perhaps that is why he wanted to bless the shivering tamale vendor who was standing on the street corner, as Robert drove by in his heated car? He quickly parked his car, walked over to the tamale vendor and offered to buy the entire batch of fresh tamales. She had over 10 dozen tamales. She couldn’t refuse his offer. She was so cold, even with all her layers.
After Robert loaded up his tamales, he began to drive around and hand the hot and fresh tamales out to Chicago’s homeless. It was a day filled with joy! When Robert got home that night, he decided he wanted to do it again the next day. He took to social media and asked about the location of his friend’s favorite tamale vendors. The next day, Robert bought out three vendors. He then set out to distribute to the homeless and hungry.
When interviewed by the local media, Robert Magiet made it clear that he understood what difficult times were like. The struggle that COVID-19 has brought to the restaurant industry caused Robert and many of his friends to struggle. The difficult times opened his eyes to the need to help others. Robert says, “If somebody in our neighborhood is struggling, we all struggle.” He continues to help the hungry and the occasional tamale vendor. He is also working to organize other restaurants in his community to help the hungry.
Feeding the hungry and caring for the homeless is an act of love. It is what God calls us to do. Over the next two weeks, Oklahoma is going to be cold. Perhaps today we can be reminded that when the opportunity is in front of us, we too should feed the hungry, care for the homeless, and help those who are in need. Robert Magiet caught my attention with his creativity. He helped so many people with his act of love. Let us look to our own imagination and see how we can bless the needy among us.
– Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
