Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who
is generous to the needy honors him.
Proverbs 14:31
While listening to the radio in the car the other day, I
heard the dj say something like this: If you have children, this has probably
already happened to you today. You’re child says, “Mom, I’m hungry; Can I have
a piece of toast?” Or, “I’m thirsty; can you get me a drink?” Of course, you’re
response is to feed them or give them something to drink. All good parents want to provide what their children need. As I listened, I
thought the guy on the radio would say something like, “If that’s how you feel
about your children, how much more does God want to provide for you?” And that’s
true. But my prediction was wrong. What he said next really made me think. "What
if you were a parent whose child asked you for something to eat, and your answer had to be “no”? What if all you could say was, “I’m sorry, sweetie, I
don’t have anything to give you. We have no more food”? What if all the water
you had to give them was infested with bacteria that could kill them?" I don’t
think I had ever really thought about poverty from this angle. I’m not a parent
yet, but I know that if I had a child and I had to tell them something like
that, it would truly break my heart.
Consider this: *more than 6 million
children die from malnutrition every year. Or this: “Approximately 1.8 million
children die each year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor
sanitation. This is around 5,000 deaths a day." I think we are so removed and insulated from
poverty like this that astounding as these statistics are, it’s difficult for
us to even comprehend them. We can read them, but we have no names and faces to
attach to them. That’s why I would like to encourage you to visit the Compassion International site today—even now. Look through the faces of the
children who need sponsors and see if God might speak to your heart about a
specific child (but don't wait for a "magical" moment; they all need sponsors!). You
might take time to pray over some of the faces that you see. You will notice that some of the children’s
pictures have a little red ribbon on them. This means that those children live
in AIDS-affected areas. Other children (and some of the same ones) will have a
little blue symbol on their pictures. This means that they live in an area with
a higher risk of exploitation and abuse. If you choose to sponsor a child, your
$38 a month will go a long way in helping to protect him or her from the
long-term consequences of poverty. It will help relieve the burden of parents
who are unable to provide for all of their children’s needs—even the simple necessities
of food and clean water. You will also be able to communicate with your child
through letter writing (Compassion has made this very easy for you! You can
type your letters from their site and even upload pictures onto your letter.
Compassion workers will translate your letter and provide your child with a
hard copy. Or you can always send them the old fashioned way!)
So, visit the Compassion International site today!
*Statistics and their sources
found on Compassion web site.
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