....that's the Gospel right?
The fad now in ministry from the Western World to the developing world is to help people help themselves. Business management classes are being held for free. Micro-enterprise endeavors abound. Small business loans are prevalent.
And some people are benefitting in huge ways from this!
Some people.
I’m often cautioned by people of all walks of life and faith to not just give handouts here. “It breeds dependence.” And I’ve tried. In fact, I started out believing this, and then I spent three months in Ghana.
During those three months, I was walking the mile or two to church when a child asked me for money to buy food. I asked where the father was. “Away” was the answer. I asked where the mother was, “In the house.” I said, “Go ask your mother” and left the child behind.
It didn’t take many steps for me to hate the fact that I had denied food to some child, whether needy or not, especially as I was on my way to worship. Although I didn’t know it at the time, Isaiah 58 was the message that I heard…”Is this the fast that I have chosen?”
Today I watched some young men playing football. They were somewhere in between 12 years and 17 years old. I love to watch them play football (soccer) because they can do incredible stuff with their feet and they are soooo quick!
I don’t know anything about football really but I really enjoy watching, especially these kids that Godson coaches and with whom he has has relationships.
Being a sport of the foot, I always notice their footwear. Today there were several children playing in Keds. One young man’s foot was much to big for the shoe he was wearing, in fact, his right shoe was splitting at the back. One kid was playing in Vans. Several were playing in mismatched, rescued soccer cleats, one of which was missing the “cleat” part of the shoe. There were some that had matching cleats but of those that matched, not one had laces. Actually of all the different kinds of shoes, most had no laces. I was ready to give mine from the shoes I was wearing to a boy who didn’t have any until I noticed that almost none of them had any.
As I watched them play, my mind went from their skill to, “WHY?” Yeah people appreciate and take care of that for which they work. Yes, it is biblical for people to work for what they have. But seriously? Just a pair of matching shoes, sized to their feet, with laces…is that too much to give?
They don’t mind and obviously they played with what they had. The best kid was the one with the Keds split down the back. Its not that I want them to have them so that they ‘feel’ better about themselves although that would surely be the case, but because they are so skilled and I think it would improve their game. We don't have the money right now to give like this anyway.
Last week was the district week of games where teams from eight different places within the district boarded and competed. Almost none of the volleyball players wore tennis shoes. Some were flip-flops, most wore only socks.
I see what people are saying these days. I don’t want to harm anyone by pretending I am helping just to make myself feel good. But I also see that in Acts the disciples gave and shared everything as everyone had need.
It is really hard for me to sit back and say that people should work for what they earn all the time. I mean, these people work way harder just to survive one year than I the sum of my work throughout my life. It's pretty relative in my eyes.
My dream would be to see each of these boys following Jesus, walking in fellowship with Him and in His ways and playing for his glory in bright, new, matching, laced, whole shoes. If the former comes without the latter, then that’s okay. Until then, it will still remain as my dream!
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