Going out of business

I saw a man today at the side of the road, holding up one of those signs you see from time to time, telling the passersby that a business was liquidating, and that everything had to go. It seems I see these men, these human billboards, quite frequently, and I always feel sadness and pity towards them. To be a human sign seems so incredibly dehumanizing to me. Standing at the side of the road, stationed at a traffic signal for hours at a time, knowing that people are staring at you as much as they are staring at the message, has to be one of the most humiliating moments in anyone's life.

Today, the man I saw used his sign as a shield, blocking the view of his face from the stopped cars at the intersection. There was no way to see him. It was clear that he wanted nothing more than to be invisible.

How long must he stand there, and how much is he being paid? Where would you hire someone to do this kind of work? What was that moment like when he arrived at the appointed hour, greeted the manager, received his signs, and was told where to go stand?

Some would argue that the man is probably happy to just have a job. I don't think that's likely. No one on this earth would desire this for themselves. But I respect the man, for doing something so humbling as this, for being willing to do whatever work comes his way, possibly just so he can feed his family. I have never been in that station of life--ever. I have no way of conceiving what it would be like to have to take a job like that, or to feel the necessity to accept that kind of work.

I have been given so much, and have so much to be grateful for. Why do those who are blessed with so much receive so much? Why have I been given so much?

I wish I knew that man's story. He's a man, noble and dignified, created in the image of God.

He is no billboard.