Wednesday, February 11, 2009

FAIR WARNING....this post is a bit stronger then normal

42,000 people can attend a baseball game at Citizen's Bank Park.
everysingleday over 30,000 people die from the lack of food
EVERY DAY!
i honestly can't take it anymore
living a life of absolute riches
I spend money, like it grows from trees
We sponsor a Compassion Child
what difference am i really making?????
REALLY?
I don't know how much longer I can sit idle
It is to easy to ignore, but my heart won't let me anymore
...and what about you dear reader?
(go ahead and run from this negativity and cynicism!)
I for one need to make a difference by:
a. getting myself out of being a slave to debt
b. continuing to talk about global poverty
c. plan for the future, to find ways to utilize my valuable time and valuable energy
to "be the change in the world"
God said there would always be the poor
I have no grand illusion that that will ever change
BUT
to sit idle when commanded by God to do different is no longer an option for me
I promise to see the poor like Jesus sees them
I promise to use my wealth to better off the poor
I promise to throw pebble after pebble in the ocean to offset change with my every breath and to not be ignorant of the problems of this world due to the blessings God has and continues to bestow on me.
There are 960 million starving people in the world
The population of the United States is 300 million
Let's stop this charade of ignorance and force the change!
God loves everyone, everywhere
if ANY of our children were starving we would stand up and SCREAM and KICK and PUSH
imagine not having a choice or an option and for all the kicking and screaming you do...
no one seems to hear, not ever.
Will you do something?
Anything?
please pray with me....
Oh Lord, Father and creator of all
we cry out to You
we need guidance to do your will beyond our daily lives
we need you to teach us how to be good stewards with our
blessings for the poor and not for ourselves
we cry out to You
guide us Father
guide us to help and give and love and forgive and to continue to give and love and forgive and to love to love to love and to love
like you love us
we cry out for your guidance
O'Lord
guide us
through Jesus
amen

1 comment:

mad4books said...

Amen, Tater.

And "amen" to a, b, and c, too. I may not "spend money like it grows from trees" since I'm a divorced school librarian and b-r-o-k-e all the time, but I'm richer than most people in this world.

(Just think...we can make the air in our houses the temperature we want, we have antibiotics & medicines & procedures that can cure what used to be life-threatening or deadly, we live to ripe old ages, we own multiple cars/TVS/computers/electronic devices, we're suffering a national epidemic of obesity, and you're right--we think WAY too much about our wallets and retirement plans and WAY too little about those who are hungry.)

My daughter and I were just talking about this yesterday...how the poor we will have with us always...and what should America do about welfare? Does welfare *program* a person to expect a handout and actually do him no favors in the long run? Do we only help poor children?

Do we give free food...or provide training and education programs so that people can earn a lifetime of food?

But then, if we do that, do we allow poor children to suffer in the meantime? It's hard. Who knows what to do...except for give and love and pray?

You know that old starfish story? The inspirational one about the little boy who was trying to throw all the beached starfish back into the ocean and his father told him that it was hopeless, that there were too many for him to make a difference? (The little boy pondered the starfish in his hand and said, "It will make a difference to this one!" before he threw it back.) Remember that old chestnut?

Well, one big step Christians can take is to make a difference to the starfish right in front of them. There are starfish all around us! We don't have to go to Africa to find poverty or India to find someone without Jesus or Asia to find someone broken in spirit. We are standing on beaches filled with starfish right here in the Land of Plenty!

It's a small step, but it's a step...

Good grief. I didn't mean for this response to be so long. I was just going to say AMEN to your prayer...guess you hit a nerve here because this has been on my heart lately, too!