Careless or Care-FULL?

The question I believe challenged us the most this week was, "How have we become careless with the poor?"  Judging from the answers and emotions that followed, its safe to say we're not all at the same place on this one.

That's OK.

As I reflected further on this question and read the Day 11 journal entry, this quote stuck with me:

"The pesky facts of poverty can bounce off of me.  It's all so far away, the numbers are so big that they are just too much to digest (how many is a billion anyway?), and it's so much easier to just close my mind and move on."

I think where we as individuals and as a community of faith are in danger of  being careless with the poor is when it ceases to be personal.  When we can check it off our list, blindly throw money at it, or develop a program that stands between us and the poor, we're being careless.  At that moment we are but a breath away from an apathetic carrying out of our duty.

For Jesus, everything was personal.  Reading the Gospels, Jesus seemed to have intensely personal relationships with the poor.  Jesus was full of care for those in need.  And Jesus had compassion, which means he did something about it.

We can't safely judge another's heart for the poor.  But we can judge our own.  We're called to do so.  If Jesus is our standard (which he is) and not what others may or may not be doing, let's ask ourselves a tough question this week:

Am I in danger of being careless with the poor?

Opening Our Eyes

Last Wednesday, we ended with the challenge to consider making eye contact with strangers, in particular with people in need due to poverty or other personal crises.

What do we see when we look into the eyes of strangers?

Do we see someone in the way?
Do we see a threat to our comfort zone?
Do we someone who pricks our conscience?

Do we see another person created in the image of God?
Do we see a father, brother, mother, daughter, son or sister?
Do we see another person who needs the love of our Savior and the embrace of His Church?

Do we see someone who reminds us that we might have neglected a part of our commission to love others as we love ourselves?

When we look into the eyes of a stranger, do we see that we could be in their place but for the grace of God that led us along a different path? Do we see that we are not all so different after all?

What difference would it make if we saw strangers along our path as Christ sees us?

Outside the Box

I believe creativity is needed to solve poverty-related issues.  And fortunately, many individuals and businesses today are employing non-traditional strategies to bring shoes, clean water, and healthcare to the world's poor.  As I've allowed my mind to marinate in the issues and statistics being raised by this series, I had an idea.

Doing a little research I found it is estimated that $5-$8 billion dollars (yes, that's with a "b") were left on unused gift cards each year over the past few years.  If that isn't an indication of how rich our country is, I don't know what it!  But, I digress...anyway, here's the idea.  What if we found a way, working with consumers and retailers, to recapture some of that unused money for poverty?  Even if we were only able to gather 10%, we could redirect $500-$800 million toward wiping our poverty EACH YEAR!

Some of the best ideas emerge when you toss around some crazy one.  What crazy idea do you have to for wiping out poverty?

Deny Yourself

As I read the Day 5 devotional thought this morning, a brief phrase of a verse I'm very familiar with (it was the foundational verse of the youth ministry I lead in Fort Worth for 5 years) jumped out at me.  Jesus' words from Matthew 16:24:

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

 The first step of a disciple is a step away from self--it is a step of self-denial.  However, much of our lifestyle as western Christians (as much as we'd like to believe otherwise) involves subtle steps toward self.  We want our worship to be comfortable, in our preferred style, we want to schedule our Christianity so that it does not interfere with our "lives", we tailor our spending habits to perpetuate ease of living, and we cordon off our relationships so they do not intrude and bring with them the risk of change.

God is calling me, calling us, to take daily steps away from self.  Self-denial is the fertile ground from which justice and mercy spring forth.  What are the "first steps" of self-denial that God is calling you to take?

Justice rolling like a river...

"But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" - Amos 5:24 (NIV)

I love the comparison Amos makes of justice to a river. Rivers are steady and bring life and replenishment to the land. Rivers follow a constant path and provide sustenance to the thirsty. And at times, rivers absolutely overwhelm the land by their flooding. It's at these times of flooding that we realize despite the dams or the levees we build that rivers are beyond our control...they go beyond our ability to manage and contain.

It's important to note that Amos doesn't tell the Hebrews to "create justice" or "start justice" or "come up with justice". No, he says to "let justice roll..." You see, God's justice is always there and always flowing...the problem is we dam it up. We quench it. We prevent it from reaching the people who need it. There are times that we do that intentionally, there are times that we do that out of lazy apathy, and there are times that we do it simply because we don't know better. Regardless of why this quenching occurs, though, Amos tells the Hebrews (and American Christians) to let justice roll!

We live in a world that is "parched" with people in need, people who are hungry and thirsty, people who are suffering from various types of injustice and oppression. Billions of God's children throughout the world and in our own community are hurting.

I encourage you to consider how we have quenched God's justice or prevented His justice from rolling on to those in need. Also, consider how we can live in such a way that we let justice roll on like a river...how can we join in with God and His justice? (Feel free to privately reflect on these thoughts, and also feel free to post a reply...sharing our thoughts and reflections with one another is very helpful in us growing as a group!)

The Journey Begins!

This week we begin our journey into The Just Life.  I believe the next 10 weeks will be a time that will stretch us, perhaps even make us uncomfortable, as we look into the face of poverty and explore God's expectations for His children.  But this journey is one of hope!  We can make a difference; we can be the change!  Join us as we discover, understand, and respond to poverty in the name of Christ!