Is There Rich Poverty and Poor Poverty

Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers on yet another Super Bowl win.

Today I noticed a story out of Tampa where the National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell was characterized as pleading poverty. The story went on to relate how Goodell deems it absolutely necessary to renegotiate player salaries like those of Ben Roethlisberger in order to weather tough economic times. According to USA TODAY Roethlisberger’s salary for the 2008 season was $27.7 million. Meanwhile the player’s unions are claiming that an average team makes $24.7 million per year and the value of a franchise has rocketed to just over $1 billion.

Today I also read a story on how the Kenyan government will adopt new measures to deal with escalating poverty in the wake of the gasoline tanker explosion which claimed 111 lives. Many desperately poor women and children were incinerated as they tried to scoop up the highly flammable liquid that had spilled when the tanker truck overturned.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga was quoted as saying, “Everywhere people are trying to do delicate arithmetic as they try to survive. They are trying to figure out whether they need to buy flour or a match box or a packet of milk or a half kilo of meat.” Odinga characterized Kenyans as being crushed by the power of poverty, making a daily choice between feeding their families, or buying medicine they need. He urged his fellow Kenyans to not succumb to desperate acts and to guard against hopelessness.

Meanwhile back in Tampa commissioner Goodell was quoted as saying, “We are not immune from what’s going on out in the economy. There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty and uncertainty breeds fear.”

So let me ask you this. Who is more fearful of their future; Multi-million dollar football players (or owners), or a Kenyan mother rushing into the suffocating fumes of a gasoline spill?

If you would like to bring hope to a child in need please visit www.Compassion.com

To check out what is happening in the real world and countries where Compassion International serves, go to http://blog.compassion.com

Diamonds May Be a Man’s Best Friend

My family went to see the movie Marley and Me. It is a touching story about a treasured family pet and the integral role the dog played in the family. I selfishly avoid having a cat or dog in order to guard my heart from that inevitable day when a faithful companion and source of joy passes on.   So I know how attached people can get to their pets.

On the other hand I am amazed when people go off the deep end. Back in December the LA Times published an article on just how insane some pet lovers can get. The article featured one business where you can buy a $50 wig for your cat. Another service will make a $2,500 diamond out of your pet’s cremated remains.

According to the American Pet Products Manufacturing Association (APPMA), gift giving to pets is a rising trend with gifts being given to pets at Christmas, birthdays, Valentine’s Day, and more. The APPMA reports Americans spend more than $36 billion a year on everything from squeaky toys to car seats.

Let me put this in perspective. Compassion International tells us that for $32 a month you can provide for a child’s health and well being, so that is $384 per year. Now let’s divide $36 billion by $384. See where I’m going with this? Of course I can’t ask you to abandon your pet, so what if we took $18 billion, leaving another $18 billion for our pets. That would provide 46.8 million children with basic care every year.

Pet owners have big hearts and I am sure that if we explained to them the difference they could make they would be happy to help out.

[If you would like to help children in need (even if you don’t have a pet) please visit www.Compassion.com]

Be a Hero..It’s Easy

I don’t think this qualifies as a spoiler, but I will give you fair warning; If you haven’t seen the movie Mall Cop I am going to give you the big picture on the picture.

My wife and two kids decided to go see the movie Mall Cop the other night. Now I didn’t have high hopes, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It is a nice little story about a lonely guy with health issues who is employed at the local mall as a security officer. Through a twist of fate and remaining cool under fire he becomes a life saving hero.

What I really liked about the movie was the way it portrayed how an average guy can change the lives of many people. It also had an underlying element if hope since the average guy never gave up on his dream and in the end earned the admiration of everyone. Finally, there was the portrayal of a strong family structure even though he was a single dad raising a daughter. In short there was a lot of stuff running through this movie that most of us would aspire to; the respect of our peers, the admiration of our family; and the hope that our average daily lives might somehow make a life changing impact on others.

You might be saying, “Only in the movies”. But what if I told you that you don’t have to go to Hollywood to be a hero? Thousands of people have already become heroes through Compassion International. They have already made a life changing (perhaps even life saving) impact on a child in need. They have made a hero’s commitment to support and nurture a child, releasing them from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty. Thousands of average people have become heroes to over a million children in 25 countries.

You can do it too. For just $32 a month (about a dollar a day) you can sponsor a child and be a hero for life. Please visit http://www.Compassion.com and sponsor a child today.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

A Celebration of Hope

Romans 8:24-25
For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

It was December 31, 2008 and our cruise ship pulled away from the dock at Oranjestad, Aruba just before sunset. As deep black finished painting the night sky Sally and I could see the fireworks already starting. We had been told by our tour guide that people were coming from all over the island to the capitol to celebrate and ring in the New Year. As we sailed along in the darkness we enjoyed the aerial pyrotechnics, and although they were made small by our viewing distance they were colorful none the less.

Turning our attention to shipboard activities we waited eagerly for the count down to 2009. Shortly before midnight we made our way to the upper pool deck where everyone had gathered around a large ice sculpture reading “2008”. At the appointed time the 8 was slid away and replaced with a 9.  Horns blew and toasts were made as the band heralded in the New Year.

I am sure that those on Aruba as well as many other islands in the Caribbean were celebrating the same thing we were; the hope that 2009 would be a better year than 2008. Hope that our finances would increase, and that the cruise ships would continue to bring tourist with expendable cash. Much like the hopes that we had when saying goodbye to 2007.

Over the next several days we would visit many islands in the Caribbean. We saw much of the beauty in God’s creation. There were the boulders at Virgin Gorda, the twin waterfalls on Dominica, and the pitons of St. Lucia. We also saw some desperately poor people living in tinned roofed shanties smaller than my tool shed at home. I had to wonder what thier hopes might have been on New Year’s Eve, or if they had any hope at all.

Working with Compassion International as an Advocate I have come to understand that a lack of hope is the result of a life seemingly without options. Poverty robs people of hope and tricks them into believing that nothing will change their situation. I also have learned that it doesn’t take much to give someone hope, and this is particularly true for suffering children.

Before our fortune truly changes there must be an everlasting hope; one that transcends the tourist dollars and the stock market. There is the hope that the world will recognize that its current course will lead to nothing more than destruction. There is the hope that those who have much will give sacrificially to those that struggle. There is the hope that the world will soon understand that we are all children of God and that He cares deeply and desperately about each one of us.  And He wants us to do the same.

[If you want to give hope to a child and their family visit www.Compassion.com]

Silent Sermon

John 13:34-35 tells us “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

My wife gave me one of those “saying-a-day” calendars by one of the feel-good preachers you see on TV.  Most of his thoughts for the day are spiritual fluff.  However, his message for December 22^nd was right on.  It read in part, “The world does not need to hear another sermon near as much as it needs to see one.” 

Recently I have “seen” a couple of sermons and they have left a lasting impression on me.  I would like to share them with you.

I do volunteer work for Compassion International a Christian organization that finds sponsors for underprivileged children in underdeveloped nations.  Compassion has partnered with contemporary Christian artists to present the ministry of Compassion at their concerts.  This fall I was at one of these concerts staffing a table along with other volunteers, where brochures for children in need are available for sponsorship. 

If you are a contemporary Christian music fan you will know that Mercy Me is the equivalent of a mega-star rock band in the secular world.  Before the intermission the lead singer Bart told the audience not to go into the lobby and by one of their CDs.  Instead, he said, go out and sponsor a child.  In other words, spend your money on something that will change a life.  Bart wasn’t interested in making money; he wanted to do something for the kingdom of God.  His love for these children was evident and abundant, and the audience response was tremendous. 

 

My second silent sermon came just the other day.  I needed to drop something off at our church and wound up volunteering to deliver some care-packages to a couple of families. The normal boxes of food are augmented at Christmas with presents for children.  As I pulled in front of the most run down row house on the block a young boy rushed out to meet me.  When I opened the van door revealing two large bundles of presents his eyes widened and his smile seemed wider than his cheeks could hold.  He didn’t have to know what was in the boxes; his joy came from knowing that somebody cared enough to see that his heart would not feel the pain of disappointment on Christmas day. 

 

At the same time joy filled my heart, I was deeply humbled by having had the privilege of this moment.  I had not organized the gift drive, wrapped the presents, or even donated money.  Yet, I was given the honor of delivering this gift to this young boy, and putting hope in his heart.  I am extremely grateful for the volunteers at my church who organize this effort.  Without their silent sermon I would not have received this wonderful gift. 

 

[You can be a “silent sermon” and bring hope to a child.  Please visit www.Compassion.com and sponsor a child today.]