Do Something

I'm imagining two brothers, both given I don't know, let's say an inheritance from their father.

Perhaps it was sheep.

For some reason one brother's flock does well, I mean the guy makes money like crazy. The other brother's flock though, dies off.

He's starving.

In my mind, the brother who is doing well has an obligation to the other brother. Before he goes and spends his money living it up, he should try to help his brother survive.

I mean, obviously that would have been the father's desire.

I was thinking about that, because I was reading a book about life in the times of Christ. Bandits, Prophets, and Messiahs or something like that. Apparently the religious leaders in Jerusalem, financially were making a killing while the peasants were struggling to survive.

And I thought, that's just wrong.

In a nation, for one group to be buying bigger houses, spending their money on needless things, while their brothers, are barely surviving. To me, that's evil.

Which led me of course to think about me, about us, about America.

What are doing? What are we thinking? Seriously, do we have a clue?

Spending our money on like 2000 square feet that we don't need, on our gardens, on our cars, on whatever we can think to spend it on, when there is a whole world out there, struggling just to survive.

I'm convinced if we could see things the way they really are, we'd probably puke from the evil of it all. At least, I would puke on my own materialism.

It is not a trivial issue.

This world is filled with amazing need and we have, an amazing opportunity. We can't just like hole up in our houses, clutching our money, saying me, me, me all day long.

We can do something extraordinary.

And the thing is, it's not like it even takes that much of a sacrifice.

Quoting Doug Nichols from Action International Missions:

1 dollar gives supplementary feeding for a child in Zambia for one month.

90 cents fully clothes an orphan in Malawi or Zambia.

6 dollars provides a set of commentaries for a needy pastor in Africa or Asia.

50 picking bucks will support a pastor in Cambodia, the Philippines, and India.

I have to be careful here, to use gospel motivation. The purpose here is not to guilt me or you into giving.

I'm just wondering though, are we forgetting what Jesus has done for us? Are we forgetting the grace we've been shown? Are we forgetting who all this stuff belongs to? Are we forgetting that there is a heaven? Are we forgetting that there is a judgment?

Do we even remember what Jesus told us he would being saying to some on that day,

"Depart from me, you cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, I was naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me! Then they also will answer, saying 'Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them saying, 'Truly I say to you, as you did not do it ot one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."