A Drop of Compassion in a World of Hate

For several months now I have sponsored two children through Compassion International, an organization focused on providing health-care, food, shelter, and education for under-privileged children. Doing this has served as a means to anchor the plight of the poor in my heart; poverty is a human problem, and it should have a human face.

Beyond all the statistics, politics, and media distortions there are a child's pleading eyes, silently asking if we will show them some simple love in this dark and unfriendly world of complicated hate. The modern Church has been relying on Government to accomplish this task for too long, and it seems we could use a good old-fashioned slap upside the face to wake us up and remind us that poverty is our job, not Washington's. Consider what Julian the Apostate said of the Early Church in Rome: "[They] not only feed their own poor, but ours also,"* and compare that with what the average American church-goer gives to his church today: a whopping 2.66%, of which 2.26% goes towards congregational expenses.** (We should automatically know something is wrong if we're measuring our giving to two decimal places.)

Compassion has a remarkably well-organized international infrastructure, and they've done a good job of making it easy for you and me to participate in serving the poor. Compassion also knows that children need more than just shoes, toothbrushes, and money for school; they need love - desperately and constantly. Unlike most American children, children in other countries often struggle with maintaining even a basic sense of self-worth. Through letters, pictures, and small birthday gifts, sponsors can do a lot towards helping these children understand that they are loved - genuinely and unconditionally, simply for who they are.

This post is not intended to showcase my generosity - I'm much too proud for that. Rather, I simply desire to provoke you to jealousy and encourage you to get involved with the cause of Christ in the greater world. Even the smallest gift can make a profound, eternal difference in the life of a child: "whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."*** To get started, go here.

*Alvin J. Schmidt, Social Results of Early Christianity, 328
**Ronald J. Sider, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, 199-200
***Matthew 10:42

Image courtesy of jupiterimages.com