You Are International (Part II)
In my last post I left you sipping on your cup of coffee inviting you to be missional in your everyday life - considering the beneficiary of the products you consume or use on a daily basis. So what now? Two weeks have passed. What has been done to meet the basic needs of so many around the world?
Please friend, do not underestimate the power of awareness, because with awareness comes a response. But awareness does have an enemy. It is us. We as Americans have been so blessed for so long that we have begun to feel a sense of entitlement to what is "ours" and it numbs our senses. Entitlement? Really? What have any of us done in our own strength to achieve our current successes or lifestyles? If we pause and think honestly, we will eventually come to the realization that, though many of us have worked very hard, our society and upbringing are major influences in shaping who we have become.
It is hard to imagine, but every so often I place myself in the midst of poverty. Not as one working for an NGO or non-profit bringing humanitarian relief, but as one who has been born into a family plagued by generations of extreme poverty. Every morning I wake up to a life of hunger, sickness and death. What did I do to deserve such a state in life? What did my parents do to warrant such a task as feeding me and my siblings on a daily budget of pennies? The answer is...absolutely nothing.
There are no easy answers to why some have been born into a life of poverty and others into a life of abundance. The question should not be why this disparity exists; but rather, since we have been blessed with a life of abundance, what should be our response?
And that is the question I am working out in my own life. What should be my response? What does the Lord require of me as a result of His richest blessing and abundant provision?
God grant me Your wisdom as I seek Your will for me in my life. You have been so good for so long and for what? What do You hope to accomplish by blessing me so richly—a person who for so long has been so numb to the great need around me? You have awakened me to this disparity. What now? What do you require of me?
Please friend, do not underestimate the power of awareness, because with awareness comes a response. But awareness does have an enemy. It is us. We as Americans have been so blessed for so long that we have begun to feel a sense of entitlement to what is "ours" and it numbs our senses. Entitlement? Really? What have any of us done in our own strength to achieve our current successes or lifestyles? If we pause and think honestly, we will eventually come to the realization that, though many of us have worked very hard, our society and upbringing are major influences in shaping who we have become.
It is hard to imagine, but every so often I place myself in the midst of poverty. Not as one working for an NGO or non-profit bringing humanitarian relief, but as one who has been born into a family plagued by generations of extreme poverty. Every morning I wake up to a life of hunger, sickness and death. What did I do to deserve such a state in life? What did my parents do to warrant such a task as feeding me and my siblings on a daily budget of pennies? The answer is...absolutely nothing.
There are no easy answers to why some have been born into a life of poverty and others into a life of abundance. The question should not be why this disparity exists; but rather, since we have been blessed with a life of abundance, what should be our response?
And that is the question I am working out in my own life. What should be my response? What does the Lord require of me as a result of His richest blessing and abundant provision?
God grant me Your wisdom as I seek Your will for me in my life. You have been so good for so long and for what? What do You hope to accomplish by blessing me so richly—a person who for so long has been so numb to the great need around me? You have awakened me to this disparity. What now? What do you require of me?
Posted by John Leland at 12/28/2009 5:55 PM 
Categories: Sawla Children's Home, Letta MFI, IAP, Finishing Well
Tags: Ethiopia IAP Letta MFI Women Letta Home Africa Letta Micro-Finance Institute International Assistance Program
Categories: Sawla Children's Home, Letta MFI, IAP, Finishing Well
Tags: Ethiopia IAP Letta MFI Women Letta Home Africa Letta Micro-Finance Institute International Assistance Program
This really relates to the old adage "Give a person a fish and they are hungry tomorrow. Teach a person to fish and you feed them for a lifetime. It's one thing to give of our abundance to feed those less fortunate than us, and I believe that God calls all of us to do just that. But in order to achieve the true calling that God calls us in order to transform lives, we need to be actively teaching people how to fish, whether that be mentoring people to a new and different mindset, training them in new skill sets, or just encouraging them to overcome their self-limiting fears. Our financial abundance can only do so much. It's up to us to take it to the next level with our personal involvement.
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