Why I Fight
Poverty and injustice are so overwheleming in our world. It’s hard to believe that just one person can make a difference. The Bible makes it clear that the poor will be with us until the end of the Earth.
In Deuteronomy 15:11 it says “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.”
Jesus himself states we will always have the poor in Mark 14:7 “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. ”
Why then should we bother if we can never stop poverty?
Maybe because the fight against poverty is an important one. God tells us in Isaiah 58 that a true fast is to help the poor, feed the hungry and to break the bonds of oppression. God spends a fair bit of time talking about justice.
I’m reminded now about the parable of the lost sheep the lost coin and the good Samartian too. I think that helping even one person is significant. So what if we can’t change the world. Is that really our job? Isn’t that God’s?
Our job is to simply love our God, and our neighbour. I also think that love also can inspire us to work for what to everyone else looks like a lost cause.
I am going to India in 11 months to help a hospital out with its computers. Maybe it is a lost cause. Maybe I can’t make any real impact. Maybe I’d be better off donating the money I am spending on my trip to TEAR instead.
What if I can make a difference. Maybe save EHA a few thousand dollars a year. Money they can spend helping the sick. Then is it worth it?
That will probably enable them to give care to another dozen people each year. That’s a lot, but still no real dent in the povery that abounds. In a country that has more then a billion people in it.
I think it does make it worth it. I mentioned the good Samartian before and the lost sheep. I think that changing just one life would make it all worth it. However everyone is precious to God, so though each person is precious I have a duty to help as many people as I can.
I know my life style doesn’t allow for this at the momment. I know I am far to selfish to be able to dedicate all of myself to this task. It is not a task I have to do by myself though. For one there is God, but also there are many other people in the world fighting the good fight too.
So I shall fight against poverty. Do my small part, and let God do his bigger part.
11 days not 11 months…
One of the nice things they teach you in economics, is that when you’re making decisions the relative impact is 100% irrelevant. It makes absolutely no difference if you’re helping the last poor person, or the billionth to last. If it’s worth helping the only poor person on the planet, it’s just as valuable helping the next person who meet that needs help.
That was kind of interesting for me. Most of the time we think in things in terms of relative impact. We’ll work harder to get $1 off petrol than we will to get $1000 off the price of a house. Which is intuitive, but probably not that sensible.
Dave, God Bless you buddy. You have a big heart and big mind/body ready to act on it.
Remember Dave that helping and going out of the way for others is what Jesus wants you to do, and when you do it, i know you’l have the abundance of Gods Grace and Blessing upon you.
Keep strong to sharing your faith most of all, through your actions and speech. If one person comes to Christ because of the seeds you have sown by your efforts, then what more could you ask? I wouldnt. Ur becoming more humble every day and an awsome friend. God Bless I’ll be praying hard for you buddy!!!