Helping the Hopeless

With the recent tragedy in Haiti, all of us are made somewhat aware of how bad some humans have it in the world. Some would say that Haiti got what it deserved (I am not one of those people). Others would see the plight of the Haitians and be moved with compassion to help those who have been displaced, who don't have the bare necessities, or who have been orphaned by the disaster. We must all understand that the Haitians are 100% in need of foreign help. Even if you are a hard-hearted jerk and think they deserved what happened, you must realize that there are thousands of people who were faultless. Yeah, you could blame the government for not being ready, but there are still thousands of people utterly dependent upon the kindness of others and hopeless unless someone helps them without any hope of repayment.

For those of you who are Christians, if you haven't given financially to the crisis in Haiti, then I would beg you to go to http://churcheshelpingchurches.com/ and donate to their cause. Pastors Mark Driscoll and James MacDonald are working to help the Christians in Haiti. Read what they are up to, pray about it, and give. If you don't give to them, then give to somebody over there. It doesn't need to be much, just give what pleases you to help other Christians.

This tragedy is awful, but there are other tragedies in the world that are much more sustained than this earthquake or the tsunamis or Hurricane Katrina. The one which breaks my heart the most is the sex trade. There are millions of women and children taken into slavery to be used as sexual objects for men with money. Here's an article that will give you a little bit of insight into the sex trade in Thailand: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=12616

Why is all of this important? As a Christian, kindness to the downtrodden paints a distinct theological picture. When we respond to people's suffering with help, care, and love we show the world our God. Our God seeks out the weak and poor in spirit and makes those people His children and heirs of His kingdom. Being weak and poor in spirit is not dependent upon socioeconomic level. Every human is bound to sin and wickedness. We all need the mercy of God to rescue us from that pit. When His redeemed people go about showing tangible love and grace by giving and helping, we declare that God has treated us with great love and grace.

One final note: it is easy for us to get caught up in social work and leave the gospel behind. The most important part about social work is ministering Christ to people. What do starving, homeless, parentless kids in Haiti need more than food, water, and shelter? They need Christ. We must allow Christ to satisfy their physical needs through His people in order to show that Christ will also satisfy their souls eternally.

May the Lord bless you all as you go out and minister to the broken!