Stewardship

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"IN THE END, WE WILL REMEMBER NOT THE WORDS OF OUR ENEMIES BUT THE SILENCE OF OUR FRIENDS." Martin Luther King, JR.

Some people reject God because they say "If He existed, how could He allow disease, famine, violence, etc?" I reject that assertion because its just another way for people to lay blame outside of their realm of responsibility. Instead of questioning God, question yourself. What are YOU doing to make the world a better place? When you see a child being abused, a homeless man on the streets, or drugs being used and distributed in your neighborhood, what do you do about it? Do you turn your head, walking quickly by, blaming God for not taking care of his creation? Do you go home and get on your knees, silently praying that God make this world a better place, begging Him to heal that child, to increase police in the neighborhoods, or allow scientists to come up with a cure for AIDS, etc but then get up and do nothing? Or even worse, do you not notice at all, already desensitized to the point that the suffering and destruction blends in so well with the fabric of your life that they could be just another building or tree on your journey?

Yes, I do believe that with faith, the impossible becomes possible and that God has a greater will than any mere human can understand. However, I ALSO believe that He equipped each one of us with talents and gifts and that with faith in Him we are able to take action. Instead of sitting back, waiting for God to do work in our lives, we should be allowing Him to work through us. No gift is meaningless or too small. If you can paint, paint with a purpose. If you sing, sing for a cause. If you can lead, organize a charitable event. Whatever you can do: write, dance, organize, teach, ANYTHING can be used for a purpose greater than yourself.



Stop blaming God for what's wrong in the world and take some responsibility. Idealistic or not, if everyone did their part in stopping violence, educating our youth, feeding the needy, etc, I really don't believe we would be as bad off as we are. Silence is dangerous and apathy is deadly. For all that we are aware, that little girl that was just raped and killed could have been poised to be THE scientist that discovered a cure for cancer. That young boy that is gunned down in his neighborhood could have been THE leader that would change public policy or revamp the educational system. Could either scenario be prevented? Possibly. There's usually a chain of events leading up to violence. But instead of being aware of our surroundings, we keep our heads down, because to us, we have our own problems and someone else will take care of the world, we just don't have time.

Don't turn a blind eye to the suffering around you. Stop being so concerned about yourself that you fail to even notice or care. Refrain from thinking its just a part of life, that its 'most unfortunate, yet inevitable.' Doing nothing takes more lives than a bullet or a disease. Individual suffering is not unique so yes you may have issues and tragedies in your own life, a lot of people do. That does NOT excuse your indifference or unwillingness to help another. If everyone did their part to make their neighborhoods a better place, imagine how far reaching the effects could be.

It's far easier to walk around without hope, blaming God, the 'system', politicians, or whoever else. It takes strength to examine yourself and determine that YOU can do more.

"Small things done with great love will indeed change the world." Mother Teresa.

Links to charitable organizations. Don't just donate your money. Give something far more precious. Your TIME.

The American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/
United Way http://www.liveunited.org/
Boys and Girls Club of America http://www.bgca.org/
Posted by 3VE at 12:56 PM

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