The Least of These

So this blog thing was Kipp's idea... I don't really love to write. I used to. When I was in elementary school, I wrote poems and articles- even a "chapter book" or two. It seems like these days, though, I sit down to write and my mind goes blank. I feel this self-induced pressure to be as clever or witty or insightful as the latest blog post I've read of someone else's.

Well, today I'm biting the bullet and posting something myself. I'm feeling lately like writing may help me process my thoughts and emotions better. It may not be the most brilliant thing you've ever read, but I figure I'll give it a try...

Yesterday in church, the youth led the service (and did an awesome job!). Several of them talked about how the Lord has been working in their lives and what He has been teaching them. One girl talked about the burden she has for the poor- about how much the Bible has to say about the poor (which is a lot, so it must be important to God) and about how just writing a charity check doesn't really cut it (God has much more than that in mind).

I agree... but as I'm processing this, it gets more and more complicated in my mind. What does it look like to care about the poor?

Especially in this country. It seems to me that so many of the poor and/or homeless in our nation are caught in a cycle of poor choices and life-consuming addictions. That doesn't mean we can say, "Well, they screwed up their own lives. It's their own fault that they're in that situation." We still need to help them. But how? There aren't any quick fixes for most poor people in our country. We can't just give them a little food or a little pocket change and be done with it. Only life-on-life love, sharing, counseling, and teaching can break these sorts of cycles.

Then I get home from church and am taking advantage of a nice, quiet afternoon to read a little. I'm currently reading a book by an anthropologist who lived among the Beng people of Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa. In this book, she tells the story of a little baby who died of tetanus while she was there, despite her desperate efforts to save him. The unfortunate thing about the death was that it could have been prevented, had the mother been vaccinated herself against tetanus. Even more unfortunate was that a government van came to her village just two days prior to the baby's death and offered "free" tetanus vaccinations.

If the shots were free, why wasn't the mother vaccinated? She couldn't afford to pay 5 cents for a needle and 25 cents for the notebook she was required to purchase for the nurses to write her vaccination history in. So the "free" vaccine wasn't so free after all. If we give money to help Africans fight disease and food shortage, it may help some, but more is needed if these problems are to really be overcome.

But where do we start? There is so much to be done. And most of us are so far removed from these people's lives. How do we make an impact and love like Jesus loves?

Does anyone have any thoughts on any of this? I'm thinking out loud here.