This video has been around for a while, but it's a good one.
If you have four and a half minutes to spare, it's worth watching.
For a long time now, I have known that there is a passion living and breathing through my heart and soul, that is not my own. A passion to see all people safe, educated, fed, healthy and clothed. A passion to end hunger, and homelessness, poverty and genocide. A passion to live in peace with my neighbors both near and far.
I feel this passion in my inner most places...and I know beyond knowing, that this is God's passion. God's passion living and breathing in my soul, through my lungs, through my nostrils.
It's God's passion that stirs my imagination, my hope, my actions....
Oh, just watch the video and let me know what you think after you do!
Did it stir anything within you?
2 comments:
That is pretty gripping. It is also true and sad that we as a people and as a nation do send aid to those in need, and often times rogue regimes never allow the people to see that food, much less ever eat it. These criminals either eat it themselves or force the poor (that the food was meant for) to buy it. Also many of the "charities" begging for money for various causes keep nearly 90% of what they take in for "expenses". That really chaps my hide too. We have to be informed about that kind of information too before we give.
We do indeed have much to do, and I'm all in favor of helping others. We send food, clothing, and medicine to some of the poorest people in Mexico, but we (our church) personally deliver it and hand it to the people. So we know that it reaches them. I think we should all consume less, and give more, but that is a very foreign thing in our society now. Most people donate stuff in November and December. The rest of the year........not so much. Yea, it's frustrating. But you can't scare (or shame) people in to changing behavior. The best way to see a need is to be in the middle of it. I really didn't understand the poverty some folks lived in until I went there (deep into Mexico) and spent a few days living with them. No running water, no toilets, one meal a day. And these folks we were with, were pretty much considered rich where they were. Water was for drinking, not for bathing. We did bring our own water because our bodies wouldn't have been able to handle the parasites that were a part of the water there. People growing up there weren't affected by it, but outsiders would be.
If you preach "you're going to hell if you do this and that..." most people will tell you to go to hell. It's great to point out the hypocrisy and whatnot, but some folks will tune you out. It's just a natural human response. The least favorite time for a congregation is when the preacher talks about money. Even if there are testimonies of what the church is doing to help, many will still shy away from giving. God says He loves a cheerful giver. I used to think (as a preacher myself) I needed to twist peoples' arms to get them to give. But not anymore. I tell folks, "If the Lord leads you to give (and of course I've shared the scriptures with them about giving) then give. If you're doing it out of obligation or because you think I tricked or scared you into it......don't give." It was very liberating both for the folks and me. If we want to follow Christ, and His example, we will be givers. Maybe we can't send 100's of dollars to help folks around the world, but we can buy an extra can of veggies or something each time we go shop for groceries. At the end of the month, that's a pretty good food donation for a food bank or church love store (basically a food bank run by the church). Anyway, that's my 2 cents............well, maybe that was a quarter's worth.
For me, personally, the video was very good. Thanks for sharing it. :-) James
Hey James! Thanks for stopping by and for leaving your comment.
You know, I've never been a big fan of "turn or burn" preaching...and shaming folks, well that's certainly not the kind of thing that drew the crowds to Jesus.
For me, benevolence is an act of worship...when I give of my time, or my money I do so out of love and reverence for God.
I think this is why I sometimes struggle to understand other people who see benevolence as a means to an end, whatever that end might be. A case in point being my church viewing conversions as the yardstick to measure good stewardship of benevolent fund dollars.
When administering benevolent fund dollars the question for me isn't "Did the person come to Christ as a result of the financial care we gave to them?. Rather, the question is, "Did the person experience the love and compassion of Christ?"
That's what I think anyway...
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