Tackling Mountains

It's been an interesting day thus far. I did not mean to cause a ruckus with my previous blog post but it's been generating some interesting discussions thus far. 

Thank you for reading and responding.

Here's the thing - whenever we attempt to regulate or codify graciousness, generosity, or compassion, it becomes none of those things. I guess you can guilt a person to buy a smaller house or an older model car or even give more money to the poor, but it doesn't solve our greed problem, our selfishness problem, our gluttony problem. 

Greed is best dealt with by generosity. And, generosity, humility, or a compassionate heart are things that cannot be codified or regulated.

When we are confronted with the mountain of a problem like world hunger, exploitation of children for the sex trade, the economic injustices, etc. it debilitates us. We look at the enormity of the problem and wonder what difference can we make? And we give up. Not because we don't care, but because we don't see how we can make a difference. 

Lucado writes in Outlive Your Life:

1.75 billion people are desperately poor, 1 billion are hungry, millions are trafficked into slavery, and pandemic diseases are gouging entire nations. Each year nearly 2 million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade. And in the five minutes it took you to read these pages, almost ninety children died of preventable diseases...A mere 2 percent of the world's grain harvest would be enough, if shared, to erase the problems of hunger and malnutrition in the world. There is enough food on the planet to offer every person twenty-five hundred calories of sustenance a day.

When we look at the issue of poverty, hunger, pandemic diseases, injustices, and suffering around the world, it immobilizes because of its enormity.

And when we try to codify and regulate how much percentage to give, or how big is too big in tv size or car etc., or how many gadgets can one own, I think it misses the point of mercy, graciousness, generosity.

The reality is that every Christian in America can do something and we can all do more. I think that's what needs to be emphasized. What we need to help people consider is how we can individually contribute to making a difference right where we are. How can God use us to alleviate the suffering we see right before our eyes? And together, and as leaders mobilize people and resources, I believe God can feed the multitudes. 

I can do something. God expects me to do something. I can do more. And God can change the world.

So I will be as faithful as I can in managing and stewarding my resources and my leadership position to help the people at my church to make a difference.

It may seem idealistic. But I'm okay with that.