THE Answer

God is doing something to me. I'm not sure that I like it. You see, God has been showing me increasingly more of the world outside of my little isolated existence. Broadening one's horizons sounds good, doesn't it? It is good. But with increased awareness comes responsibility. I used to keep two separate notebooks--one for jotting down ideas for pieces I'd like to write and one for writing down notes from sermons and Bible studies. I've thought about doing that again, but it seems the material that would go into the notebooks is overlapping. Jesus' words about poverty echo the sentiments I feel when I watch the news.

A friend of mine teaches fifth graders. She has told me about the home life issues that these children bring to school with them. When I was teaching, I got to know high schoolers whose parents bought marijuana for them and smoked it with them. Numerous students were their mothers' sole caretakers because these women were so lost, they could barely go through the motions of everyday life. One female student was filled with such rage and exhibited other destructive behaviors, that I wondered if she had been--or continued to be--sexually abused. Another student was pregnant for the second time while in my class. She lived with a foster mother and her own first child, who had Down Syndrome.

Recently my husband and I watched In My Country and The Constant Gardener. Both highlight issues in Africa. The issues in The Constant Gardener may not be accurate, but they could happen. Meanwhile, we Americans sit in our comfortable homes and shake our heads at the sadness.

But the sadness isn't only in Africa. The other night, the TV show Cops (we don't have cable, so our viewing choices are limited) highlighted cases with arresting prostitutes. One arrestee was an 18-year-old girl. She had a baby. I believe she had been arrested once before for prostitution. The officers warned her about the ramifications for continuing to earn money in such a way. She said she wasn't going to do it forever, that she'd stop after she hit $100,000. An officer again warned her that it is hard to get out of that business, but that she was young and could stop now. The expression on her face indicated to me that she probably wouldn't stop any time soon.

Last August I began working for a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help empower communities and other organizations in an effort to promote social justice. The term social justice used to be just a word in a history textbook to me. Now it's becoming real. When I read all the statistics on the disparities between portions of our society, I can't help but think of Jesus. Who did Jesus choose as His companions? Was it the rich guys? He did know some of them and cared about them, but His main companions were poor fishermen. They were uneducated. But Jesus chose them to carry His message.

Recently I've been reading Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller. It is changing the way I think about Christian beliefs. This book is definitely about letting God out of the box that we tend to put Him in. Miller talks a lot about how his Christianity affects his thinking about the world. His tone is conversational, not authoritative. It supports the idea that all humans are equal. We are all God's creations. We are all His children. Now imagine how sad God must feel to know a huge number of His children are hungry, dressed in tattered clothes, and have few opportunities to get out of their situation.

God has pricked my heart with the knowledge of these things. I haven't done anything different in my life yet, but I don't know how I can continue to be the same person I was. This post may seem very depressing. I don't mean it to be. I'm just conveying what I've been observing. So what is the answer to all these problems?

God.

Love.

Yesterday, in honor of Valentine's Day, I decided to read about love. Here are some highlights:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing" (I Corinthians 13:1-3).

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth" (I John 3:16-18).

"We love because [God] first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he (God) has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother" (I John 4:19-21).

One final note: Everyone is our brother. Remember the story of the good Samaritan. Also, having pity on someone, according to the Bible's standards, is not about giving a homeless person five dollars out of the goodness of your heart. It is allowing your heart to see that man or woman as a fellow human being and allowing your heart to break as a result of your awareness. And that heartbreaking should lead to action....I'm working on that part.