Sheep and Goats

I was hungry and you fed me,

I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

I was homeless and you gave me a room,

I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

I was sick and you stopped to visit,

I was in prison and you came to me.'

I just read that from Matthew 25:34-36 (The Message). It's what Jesus is going to say to the faithful who get into heaven.

Interesting that I should read this today, considering my feelings about Haiti. I have a problem with pretty much the entire "help save Haiti after the earthquake" trend.

And I call it a trend because these days it's quite fashionable to be charitable and noble. It's like the latest style that some people put on and then take off when they don't like it anymore, or it no longer serves them.

I watched some of the telethon for Haiti. All these celebrities got up and asked us to do our part and donate money. Honestly, that irritates me to no end. If the celebrities doing the asking were to pool their own personal resources, they could probably fund the entire effort of the Red Cross in Haiti. If nothing else, they could certainly clean it all up. If you make $10 million for one movie, please don't stand there and tell me that you can't do it without my $20.

They stand and ask us to donate because it is fashionable to do so. They look great doing it, too. I just have one question: where were they before the earthquake hit? How many children do they sponsor through Compassion International or some equivalent organization? How much of their money went into the building up of the Haitian economy?

Don't get me wrong here; I know full well that I'm being very judgmental of people that I do not know personally. Many of them gone to great lengths to draw attention to atrocities, refugees, hunger, and other woes of our world. Others have represented charities to bring attention to the needs of others. It's not like they're all bad people.

I also realise that "rich" is a relative term. In America, we are the richest society in the world. Even our poorest usually have it better than those in third world countries.

But these celebrities are extraordinarily wealthy people, asking for money from a nation of families in a recession. People in the US have lost jobs, lost houses, lost retirement funds. What else needs to be said here? The inequity is more than obvious. So is the hypocrisy.

And the truth is that God puts situations and people in front of us so that we can serve them in whatever way possible. There are women from my church who were in Haiti when the earthquake happened -- God put them there specifically so that they could serve the Haitian people in that crisis.

God put me right here in my neighborhood, in the public school classroom this week, in my church, in my community. I live in one of the poorest counties in North Carolina. There are people to feed here, people who need a drink, a room, a coat, a visit in the hospital, encouragement in prison. These are the ones to whom God wants me to minister. Otherwise, I'd be in Haiti, or Somalia, or Rwanda, or Afghanistan, or Chechnya.

We do what we can when we are compelled by the Holy Spirit. I sponsor Rose Myrtha Brutus in Haiti. She is 7 years old. I haven't even heard yet whether or not she's even alive. I'm donating things I've made to another "help Haiti" effort. But I don't do this because it's fashionable or because it makes me look good.

I do it because I must. Because I belong to God, and He said do it. And I need better ears and a better, quicker response to the things He has called me to do.

To obey is better than sacrifice, and it accomplishes far more in God's kingdom. I can donate all the money in the world to the Haitian effort -- but if I don't take care of the people in front of me, I'm not doing what God said to do.

So let me encourage you to look a little closer at the forest and see the trees. I'm trying to narrow my vision rather than broaden it. There is so much to be done that is right here, in my small town, in North Carolina -- far, far from Haiti. Obey God, love others, serve faithfully, walk humbly. It's a high calling indeed, no matter where we live.

xoxoxox