Winter has come back to slap us in the face with multiple feet of wet, heavy snow, and has brought bouts of arctic winds along with it. However, there’s only one thing more frozen than the roads that are being pelted by both rain and snow: The hearts of Ohio lawmakers who have criminally charged a pastor for giving shelter to the unhoused. 

      In lieu of the “dangerously cold” weather (according to CBS), Ohio pastor Chris Avell decided to open his church, Dad’s Place, to unhoused people so that they would not fall victim to the deadly weather. According to NBC, “Avell was hit with 18 zoning violations by the city, which claimed he had violated a city ordinance that says residents can’t stay on the first floor of that property.” The church is located in the business district of Bryan, Ohio, where laws prohibit anyone from eating, sleeping or washing their clothes on property grounds. USA Today reports that Avell is now suing the city on the grounds of religious discrimination.

     Of course, there is truth behind his lawsuit. In the Bible, there are multiple instances where people are told to help the poor. For example, in the book of Deuteronomy, it says, ““If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient to his need, whatever it may be.” Avell was simply following the doctrine of his religion; in the Constitution, it quite literally states that there cannot be any sort of discrimination on the basis of religion. 

     Besides the fact that Avell was clearly following instructions in the Bible, we must look at this from a non-religious standpoint as well. Avell was just being kind; the weather, which has been reported to be the cause of deaths for at least five people, was not safe for unhoused people to be left alone in. What kind of a world do we live in where opening up your heart to others is a crime?

      It’s worth noting that there aren’t even that many people staying at Dad’s Place; The Guardian explains that, “On average, eight people stay there each night, and a few more do so when [the] weather is bad.”

     Really? 18 zoning laws for eight people? That’s petty, more than anything.

     All in all, the basis for the charges against Avell are completely unreasonable. Besides the fact that the Bible literally tells Christians like Avell to show kindness to the poor and unhoused, it’s really just a matter of human decency. Letting people spend the night in a warm, safe place should not warrant criminal charges, especially when the outside environment has turned deadly.

     Is it really so hard to show a bit of kindness towards those who need it? Or have the cold winds of the 2024 winter season turned lawmakers’ hearts into blocks of ice?