The Poor and Our Social Responsibility

I was asked a question tonight by a fellow sister in Christ that really made me think about my current situation and how I'm affecting the Kingdom of God... If Jesus were alive today in our world, where would he be? My first thought was that he most certainly would not be on the campus of Drake University. He would be in India (where Mother Teresa spent her life in poverty), he would be in prisons, he would be on the streets with the homeless, he would be in Africa in the middle of the Aids pandemic, giving them all a hope. Why aren't I doing this? Doesn't it seem kinda ridiculous that the only people I'm giving hope to are those who pay $30,000 to get an education and then go on to jobs and become nothing but a blend of white, middle class America? It seems ridiculous to me at least..

The book of Esther kind of talks about this situation. Esther is a Jewish Queen and her surrogate father, Mordecai, is on the verge of death, along with all other Jews in the nation, unless Esther speaks up to the King about this injustice. Esther 4:14 says, "If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” Basically what that says is that if we keep quiet, others will possibly take care of the problem. It really seems however that in our culture, no one cares about those who really need caring for. That passage in Esther says that if we ignore injustice, it will come back to us on Judgment Day and that we were made for times like this.

I must say however, I am the biggest hypocrite of you all. I preach this, yet do I really do anything about it? At this point, I have to say that no I have not, and I am somewhat ashamed. I usually simply walk by a homeless person on the street instead of offering them a hot meal, and I know most of you just walk by as well. I always ask myself what happens if this guy robs me, what if he has a disease, what if I have to be to work early in the morning. All of these are absolutely valid questions mind you, but what did MLK say about this? Yesterday I brought up a quote where he said that we should develop a dangerous unselfishness. Not just the kind that gives when it's safe and easy.

Jesus spent most of his time with those who have nothing. Mother Teresa spent her life in absolute poverty for the sake of others. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his life to a people being persecuted and beaten every day. Where do I give my time? To people who are getting an education, to people who have more food than they need, to people who have a roof over their head every single night. Even as I right this I realize that I wont be immediately going into the streets helping people, and that thought kind of sickens me, but it's reality. All I can do is love God with my whole being, and hopefully along the way, help the people who really need it.