We have all seen the commercials begging us to sponsor starving children in far off lands and heard of the people still living in makeshift shelters after devastating natural disasters or wars, but how often do we really stop to think about it? How many of us can honestly say that we’ve sat down and given a significant amount of time to imagining what these people, mostly children actually, are going through just to survive? My guess is not many; it’s not a fun thing to ponder. Up until recently, I would say the same about myself. That was before I read "The Hole in Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns. I can not recommend this book highly enough.
Do you make $50,000 or more a year? If so, congratulations, you ARE the 1%. Even if you only make $24,000 you are in the top 10.29% in the world! Pick your jaw up off the floor….it surprised me too. We, as Americans, tend to think that the way we live is normal, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Imagine if, by no fault of your own, you could not get enough food to feed yourself, let alone your children. Now imagine that the only water you could get would be a cupful of disease ridden sludge that you had no choice but to give to your children to drink. Now imagine that you are one of those children and your parents have just succumbed to your horrific living conditions and disease and now you’re an orphan with 3 younger siblings to care for. Seriously. Look into your child(ren)’s eyes and think about it for real. That is what “normal” is to a large number of the Earth’s population. It may look a little different from country to country, region to region, but the hard truth is this: we live in luxury while yesterday “more than 26,500 children died of preventable causes related to their poverty.” (Richard Stearns, "The Hole in Our Gospel") 26,500 more children will die today….and that many more tomorrow. As Richard Stearns put so well in his book, “It is not our fault that people are poor, but it IS our responsibility to do something about it.”
This is not a “feel good” topic and it may make you uncomfortable to even think about it. (At least I hope it does.) It is, however, an extremely important and urgent topic. These are not someone else’s children we’re talking about; these are God’s children, our own family. To go about our lives as if there are not people in need of our help and that they wouldn’t benefit from the smallest percentage of our resources is not only inhumane, but an affront to God Himself. In fact, I submit to you that if you consider yourself to be a follower of Jesus Christ yet you do nothing to help the hurting and hungry in this world, that it’s not really Christ you’re following at all. God loved this world so much that He sent His only Son to die to save it's inhabitants. I don't think He takes too kindly to our indifference to the marginalized. In fact, if you read Matthew 25:41-46, you can see exactly what He thinks about it. “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."(vs 45) I, for one, am ashamed of how I’ve lived my life casting my shadow on “the least of these” and I am determined to change. I don’t know exactly what it looks like yet, but God has given me little pieces of the puzzle each day, slowly guiding me toward what He created me for, and I know He'll do the same for you. You don’t have to do everything, but you DO have to do something. Even if you sponsor just one child through an organization like World Vision or Compassion International, you pull at least one child from the death grip of poverty, hunger, and disease. Many times, that difference you make in that one child’s life will break their entire family, and sometimes their entire community, free from the chains of starvation. Bono said “It’s not about charity, it’s about justice.” There is no justice in people dying from totally preventable causes while I indulge my penchant for Starbucks. None at all.
The good news in all this darkness is that all of us can help. ALL of us can do something. Imagine the change we can make if we all changed our focus from what we want for ourselves to how we can help others. We have the means; NOW is the time.
