Doing.
October 19th, 2006 by djanlp“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” ~ James 1:22-25 (Emphasis by me)
I’ve been thinking a lot about servanthood lately. I’ve been thinking a lot about Jesus lately too, and how he was such a servant. He touched the lives of the people he met, whether they be prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers. He loved them, he served them, he saved them.
There are so many opportunities in our lives to be servants, even in our everyday lives. I encourage you to serve those around you.
This isn’t really the point of this post though. I’ve been thinking a lot about Africa lately. It seems like such a faraway place, doesn’t it? I personally feel really disconnected from it. Do you remember when the tsunami happened? I know it wasn’t in Africa, but it was still in a faraway place. Then Hurricane Katrina happened, and somehow that affected me more. I think it’s just because Louisiana and Mississippi are closer than Asia. How could I have been so uncaring? Both places needed help.
Anyway, I think we need to start thinking about Africa. I could blow you away with statistics here, like about how many people die of AIDS every year, how many people die of diarrhea, or how many are killed because of civil wars. I’m not going to go into specifics though. All I’m going to say is that Africa needs our help. While African governments ignore or can’t do anything about the problems, other world governments are ignoring it too. That’s why it’s up to us to do something.
I watched a documentary last night called Invisible Children. It’s about children in Uganda who are abducted and brainwashed into becoming child soldiers. These children are between the ages of 5 and 12. Can you imagine your younger siblings or younger kids at church being kidnapped and forced to kill other people? These children are living without hope. You can do something about this. I encourage you to order the video to watch with your youth group. Then you can think of creative ideas to raise money to help these kids. You could even organize a trip to Africa with your youth group. Check out http://www.invisiblechildren.com/ for more information.
While Angel Tree and Salvation Army collect gifts for the poor and needy children in the United States, I think little is done for other countries. Operation Christmas Child is a way to help those in other countries. You can go to http://www.samaritanspurse.org/OCC for more information about how you and your youth group (or your family) can put together a shoebox full of school supplies, hygiene items, and toys for a child in another country.
Are you looking for an easier way to help? Check out http://www.TheHungerSite.com and its affiliates. The Hunger Site provided 48,017,486 cups of food last year to the hungry in various countries, including Africa. You don’t have to send money or food or anything to help. All you have to do is click the button once a day. The Child Health Site provided critical health services for more than 486,000 children worldwide last year. Again, all it takes is one click per day to help out. It’s simple, it’s easy, it’s effective, and it saves lives.
Finally, go to http://www.bloodwatermission.com for information on the importance of clean water in African countries. Did you know that more people die from diarrhea than from anything else? People drink water from unclean places, get diarrhea, get dehydrated, and have nothing except contaminated water to replenish themselves. It’s a vicious cycle. I encourage you and your youth group to raise money to build wells, or even go to Africa to dig a well! In a group I was involved with, we drank water for two weeks in place of all other beverages, then used the money that we would have paid for those drinks to send to bloodwatermission. It’s not a bad idea to do the same thing! It also is a sacrifice to do something like that…you’ll learn a lot!
I know this verse I’ll close with is kind of a punch in the face, but it needs to be said. James 4:17 says, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” We all know we ought to help others. I feel the tug. Do you?
