1) Don't just do, be
It doesn't matter how much community service you do. It doesn't matter how many people you help. No amount of service matters until you become a service. The same goes with Christianity. It doesn't matter how many Christian things you do until you become a Christian. By "become a Christian" I mean that your life, both internally and externally, belongs to Christ and his work.
2) The world is not an art exhibit
So often we see people on TV or we drive past a homeless person and think, "Wow, that's sad" or worse, "Don't make eye contact...they'll only use money on drugs....this is just like The Hitchhiker." We don't see people. We don't see that they are humans who live just as we do, fighting to survive despite the trials of the world. We only see a small part of them. We go on with our lives without realizing that they too live their lives in a far different condition than we do. Even when we "help" them, sometimes we don't really see them. We demand our picture be taken with a random child, but we don't know their name. We don't know their story. We don't understand their living conditions. We don't feel their pain. We don't know if they have a relationship with God. We have to create personal relationships with people in order to truly give them what they need. Love. Sometimes that just means a minute of your time. But that minute could change the lives of those you speak to, as well as yourself.
3) Poverty is relative
Americans often say that we need to help the poor, backward people of Africa. We need to help the impoverished nations so that they can be happy. What if they don't need help being happy? Who are we to decide what determines happiness? Being in Honduras, somewhere I have originally considered to be in great need, I discovered more genuinely happy people in passing than I have ever known in America. In our high-tech world all we concentrate on is the latest, biggest, and best thing. In Honduras, they see what is around them and they strive to make the best of what they have. If they do that, they are successful. All they know is a mud hut, a dirt road, and a one-room school. That's where they live. That's where their friends and family members live. They are happy. No, I don't think we should stop providing them with things they struggle to get, like food, medication, and clothing. But I do think that we need to be careful when we say that they need us. God provides needs. He has supplied the needs of the people of Honduras, as well as the citizens of other "needy" nations. Perhaps we just need to reevaluate our definition of "needs."
4) Poverty may be the greatest thing to happen to the church
Poverty has a positive impact on the church for both the person in poverty and those of us living far above the poverty line (which is around $1.50 a day). For those over the poverty line, we are being called to a great misssion to minister to the poor. We have a responsibility, an obligation, a debt to pay, to those of our Christian family who struggle spiritually, physically, and financially. We can go across the street or across the globe to fulfill this mission.
For those under the poverty line, this is the greatest place to meet our Savior. Those whom I have met that are most dedicated to God and who are most assured of his existence and promise are those living in far less luxurious accomodations. The bible tells us that it is easier for a camel to get through an eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to get into heaven. If there is one thing that is easier below the poverty line, it is your spiritual walk. The people that I've met are not preoccupied with their possessions or the constant fight to move up the ladder. They are focused on the spiritual, the eternal, and what is truly important. I think their mansions in heaven will be especially beautiful.
It doesn't matter how much community service you do. It doesn't matter how many people you help. No amount of service matters until you become a service. The same goes with Christianity. It doesn't matter how many Christian things you do until you become a Christian. By "become a Christian" I mean that your life, both internally and externally, belongs to Christ and his work.
2) The world is not an art exhibit
So often we see people on TV or we drive past a homeless person and think, "Wow, that's sad" or worse, "Don't make eye contact...they'll only use money on drugs....this is just like The Hitchhiker." We don't see people. We don't see that they are humans who live just as we do, fighting to survive despite the trials of the world. We only see a small part of them. We go on with our lives without realizing that they too live their lives in a far different condition than we do. Even when we "help" them, sometimes we don't really see them. We demand our picture be taken with a random child, but we don't know their name. We don't know their story. We don't understand their living conditions. We don't feel their pain. We don't know if they have a relationship with God. We have to create personal relationships with people in order to truly give them what they need. Love. Sometimes that just means a minute of your time. But that minute could change the lives of those you speak to, as well as yourself.
3) Poverty is relative
Americans often say that we need to help the poor, backward people of Africa. We need to help the impoverished nations so that they can be happy. What if they don't need help being happy? Who are we to decide what determines happiness? Being in Honduras, somewhere I have originally considered to be in great need, I discovered more genuinely happy people in passing than I have ever known in America. In our high-tech world all we concentrate on is the latest, biggest, and best thing. In Honduras, they see what is around them and they strive to make the best of what they have. If they do that, they are successful. All they know is a mud hut, a dirt road, and a one-room school. That's where they live. That's where their friends and family members live. They are happy. No, I don't think we should stop providing them with things they struggle to get, like food, medication, and clothing. But I do think that we need to be careful when we say that they need us. God provides needs. He has supplied the needs of the people of Honduras, as well as the citizens of other "needy" nations. Perhaps we just need to reevaluate our definition of "needs."
4) Poverty may be the greatest thing to happen to the church
Poverty has a positive impact on the church for both the person in poverty and those of us living far above the poverty line (which is around $1.50 a day). For those over the poverty line, we are being called to a great misssion to minister to the poor. We have a responsibility, an obligation, a debt to pay, to those of our Christian family who struggle spiritually, physically, and financially. We can go across the street or across the globe to fulfill this mission.
For those under the poverty line, this is the greatest place to meet our Savior. Those whom I have met that are most dedicated to God and who are most assured of his existence and promise are those living in far less luxurious accomodations. The bible tells us that it is easier for a camel to get through an eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to get into heaven. If there is one thing that is easier below the poverty line, it is your spiritual walk. The people that I've met are not preoccupied with their possessions or the constant fight to move up the ladder. They are focused on the spiritual, the eternal, and what is truly important. I think their mansions in heaven will be especially beautiful.
No comments:
Post a Comment