Out of the chair

Our Response is about getting out of the chair; it’s about raising awareness of the issues and equipping people to respond in some way.  We are going to Rwanda this November to formally launch this community-wide effort and welcome you to partner with us in making that happen.   For some it may be a financial involvement; for others it may be raising awareness of the efforts and the issues in Africa; for others it may be starting by caring about this issues.  The following excerpts if from “Red Letters: Living a Faith that Bleeds” by Tom Davis…

“Too often, we sit on the sidelines, waiting for some grand sign from God that we’re supposed to get into the game.  When that lightning doesn’t strike, we shrug our shoulders and think, I guess God doesn’t need me here.  Meanwhile, as we sit in our recliners, drumming our fingers and waiting for that burning-bush experience, people all around the world are crying out for  help.  Crying out for a miracle.  Maybe you don’t have something so grand as an answer for their poverty or cure for their diseas.  But you can offer them something else, something that is just as much of a miracle: hope.

But first, we have to get up out of the chair.  When we decide to move, our eyes are suddenly opened.  It doesn’t take a burning-bush experience to see Jesus in the eyes of those suffering from HIV/AIDS in Africa…”

“Surely they will help”

I just finished watching “Hotel Rwanda” and was so moved by one of the bit characters (the American cameraman) and how he was impacted.  He defies orders and goes away from their shelter to film the massacre that was happening and when the main character sees it, he says, “Surely they will send help when they see the massacre.”  The cameraman, almost matter-of-factly, says, “No, when they see the footage, they will say, ‘thats horrible’ and then they will go back to eating their meal.”  

Ouch.  

What happened in the Rwanda genocide in 1994 is almost surreal; it’s like hurricanes in distant lands; or disease outbreaks far away from us; or its even like poverty and homelessness just on the other side of our fenced in yards.  I am also reading “Red Letters: Living a Faith that Bleeds” and just finished chapter 8 which challenges us to think of the 5 things we care about most and then try to line that up with the things God cares about most. On the top of God’s list are the hurting, oppressed, impoverished, etc… our top 5 lists tend to look a lot different.  This is where the non-believer has an advantage – they can look at the world as it is for all of its injustices; often those who believe in God have this weird, un-Biblical, un-Torah view that somehow God intends for them to have and others to not have; or there is some scripture that can be used to justify why we have and others don’t.

20% of the world lives in extreme poverty; over half the world on less than $2/day (US$); and if you make $25,000/year you are in the top 5% of the world’s income-earners ($50,000 gets you to the top 1%).  Given the mega-need in our world and our mega-resources…. what is Our Response?

Life and death crash

About a year ago, I came across an accident on the road near my home.  It had just happened and the police had not yet arrived.  I stopped to see what I could do and found a gal belted in to an SUV that was flipped over in the ditch; someone was already talking with her but I went to see what I could do or say also.  I was able to chat with her until the police came and try to offer her reassurance and comfort.  I tried to have wisdom on whether or not to try to get her out or not, based on the extent of her injuries, etc… in this case, I felt it was best to wait for the professionals and just help them in any way I could.  

I have no idea if this woman was at fault in causing the crash or if she was just an innocent piece of collateral damage from someone else’s mistake – or if it was simply an accident.  I guess at that moment in the ditch, with her crying and bleeding while sitting suspended, it didn’t really matter to me.  Helping her was my priority.  I can’t imagine I would have withheld helping her if I saw a bunch of beer cans at the scene, or smelled pot coming from her car, or whatever.  There was no evidence of any of that, but if there were, would I have just gotten back in my car and drove on? What if there were 100 cars in the crash?  I can’t imagine driving on without trying to at least help 1 or 2 people.

This is a critical issue with Our Response.  I’ve heard it said the people of Africa brought on poverty and AIDS themselves; I’ve heard it said that the problem is just too big.  First let me say that the first statement makes me shudder and the second statement makes me weep.  But, here’s the thing:  No matter how you feel, there are cars scattered along the side of the road with people hanging upside down and bleeding.  How can we continue to drive by without stopping?  These are human beings, just like you and me, with families, dreams, and purpose – can you imagine hanging upside down in a car, bleeding to death, and no one stops?  Put yourself in that situation – what would be going through your mind?  Our Response, and all of the efforts to alleviate human suffering, is about caring enough about our fellow brothers and sisters in this world, that we stop our cars, see how we can help, and come alongside the experts to make a difference.

Look out the side windows of your car for crashes – they are everywhere – from poverty to disease to oppression to homelessness to hopelessness. Then have the balls (or female equivalent) to stop the car and see what you can do to help.  That is our appropriate response.

Revolution

A few of the ways the dictionary describes “revolution” include “a sudden, radical, or complete change” and “a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something.”  A revolution is not about putting other people down or puffing ourselves up.  A revolution is about changing a system that needs to be changed. 

Our Response is a revolution because we desire to change the system of how we view our lives in relation to the rest of the world.  The current system is the “Individual American Dream” system; that I as an individual am entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; it is my right and my entitlement and no one can ask anything of me that will reduce my entitlement. In the Individual American Dream system it is quite detrimental to admit that “all men are equal” because the very dream we have and the very pursuits we drive after require us to “win”; to “get there first”; to realize our “dream” even at the expense of others. 

What if we revolted against this Independent American Dream and started dreaming a new dream?  A Corporate Global Dream.  Here, success is not in achieving life, liberty, & the pursuit of happinenss for myself….. success would now be defined in achieving it for all people. 

But here’s the thing about revolutions…. you can’t just declare a revolution and it happens.  It starts with a few radicals (“Ordinary Radicals” if you will) committed to rupturing the current system by living their life in opposition to it; by sharing the vision of a new system while inviting others to join the revolution.  Often, the first visionaries don’t see the vision fulfilled, but they begin the revolution that brings about important societal change.

A revolution is afoot.  Perhaps you are unaware of it.  Look closely.  There are radicals living among you who are threatening the current system of the Individual American Dream.  There are revolutionaries who have laid their lives on the altar of enhancing the lives of others by reducing their own personal gain.  And what have these radicals found?  They have found more life, liberty, and happiness then they ever experienced before they were part of the revolution.

Live life large.  Be radical.  Feed the poor throughout the world.  Take care of widows & orphans.  House the homeless.  Think of the “least of these” as the “least of us” and you will find greater life, liberty, & happiness than you ever thought possible.  Join the revolution.

Comfy place to sit

My family just got back from a cool opportunity to go to Family Camp through Trout Lake Camps.  The kids had a blast and we enjoyed ourselves too, although we are exhausted. The camp is set-up for kids & youth, not for families.  In fact, they just recently started trying these family camps where the adults stay with the kids for the week rather than just droppin’ ’em off.  One of the things we noticed by the second day is that there was no where comfortable to sit and read, chat, etc.  The cabins had bunk beds with no chairs or couches; there was no lounge or lodge or place to just hang out comfortably to read.  If you were in your cabin and not sleeping, you sat on the floor or tried to sit on the bunk beds.  For kids, this is fine, but for us old farts it was a bit tough on the knees & back.  At one point, my wife and I considered going to hang out on the docked pontoon boat because it had the nicest seats we could find in the entire camp.

This is not an indictment of what is a great camp, but it is another indictment of how entitled we as American’s are (or at least me).  The fact that we would complain about not having a place to read that was “nice” according to our standards only continues to raise awareness of the chasm between the haves (us) and the have nots (them).  We spent the week eating great food, playing games, engaging in great activities, going to classes, and fishing only to mention a few.  But one of the things that stood out was that there was not a great place to sit and read (because the bunk beds, carpeted floor, soda fountain, and outside benches) just didn’t cut it.

Now, mind you, we weren’t mired in our entitlement, but the simple fact that we could complain about it only furthered our realization of how accustomed we have grown to our comfort. For a society barely over 200 years old, we sure are well off. Our challenge is to appreciate & enjoy our situation, but not allow it to create entitlement and lack of compassion for others who can’t even conceive of a week-long camp; they simply dream of clean water, food every day, protection from disease, and an education. Perhaps we can take a portion of our abundance and help meet their lack.