At the request of the author, this post’s attribution remains anonymous. It’s a shame really, because it’s brilliant and I’d want he/she/it to receive some credit. The real shame, though, is that he/she/it works for a prominent global organization who might misinterpret the voice behind this kind of call-to-action.
But, what it really is, is another smooth kick in the arse to each of us who find comfort in distance. For each of us who’d rather write checks than start conversations. Its a message I needed to hear most.
This post is a call to get off your butt and start getting your hands dirty in the mess of the world. About intentionally making yourself uncomfortable. And the person who is most guilty of choosing comfort over risk is me.
I have traveled a lot, seen a lot of horrible brokenness all over the world, and often am asked to travel more and speak about my experiences. After I am done, well-intentioned people always ask me what they can do, how they can help, where they should go, and then, regardless of what I say, they usually pull out their checkbooks.
I am so tired of people telling me they are interested in (insert the African country of your choice here) so they are going on an 8-day missions trip there. I am guilty of this. Have we ever thought of getting involved in what’s right in front of our faces? We don’t have to get off a plane to encounter poverty.
I fully understand that it seems more glamorous to fly to India and rescue girls from prostitution than it is to stay at your 9-5 job every day. But is there another option? How about this. Interested in Somalia? Find out if there is a refugee resettlement office in your area and see if you can volunteer. Don’t ask people to write checks on your behalf so you can go travel to Africa for a week and have a new profile picture of you with a bunch of little kids who look different than you. Or how about volunteering in an ESL classroom or after school tutoring program and then inviting the family of one of the kids you like over for dinner to hear their story of how they got to where they are, and see if there is any way you can be involved. Then, maybe, raise money to scholarship one of the kids to go to camp, or use it to set up a program at your church or community center to educate your friends/family about the problems in the country you’re so passionate about that maybe that little kid and her family are from, and then set up a fund to provide scholarships for kids from that country to attend school through a non-profit like These Numbers Have Faces in South Africa. Once that is in place, then go and visit the country when they can actually use you.
Sound glamorous? Probably not. True significance rarely is.
I am not saying that short-term trips are bad, but I am saying there is a crisis right now of listening. We uncover a passion for a particular piece of geography, and then just go there without thinking. I am a part of a generation of privileged, angst-filled former church-goers, and we are searching for something real that actually resonates with the deep desire of our souls to be connected.
At our worst, we travel on our parents’ dime to remote areas of the globe searching for purpose while trying to work out our issues through “serving” the poor, returning adorned with strange jewelry, judging every friend and family member for their lifestyles – without ever changing anything about ourselves. Good leaders seem to not simply react to the situations around them, they choose how they are going to be and then they are consistent in being that way. Not tossed by the wind.
So, at our best, my generation embraces the tension of living in a global society, and then we dig our heels into figuring out who God created us to be and we start intentionally, confidently living into that the fullest that we can, using all the energy and passion of the world.
Giving money is not bad. But, it should’t be the only thing you do. A girlfriend of mine has started doing what she calls “Water Wednesdays.” She gives up any coffee/smoothie/alcohol/ beverage she would consume every Wednesday, and then gives that money ($10-$15) to a place she cares about. Usually, she asks her friends what they are involved in, and gives to that for that week. Her family has been invested in an orphanage in Honduras for 5 years, and she is now helping pay the electricity bill there every month with her money.
So, this post is a call to each of us. A call to man-up and start taking ownership of the community we’ve been given, rather than writing a check to ease our conscience. Little drops in a larger bucket make a difference. Whether that be next door, or across the world.
If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches; for the Creator, there is no poverty and no indifferent place.
- Rainier Maria Rilke
This is a great post, and a great “start”. What I mean by start is these words will do one of two things: frustrate the people who are already doing, or push those who aren’t to maybe feel a twinge of guilt. Neither of these seem okay. For me, reading this was offensive on a few levels. Too many snap judgements from some possibly frustrating situations can make a bad attitude.
“I am so tired of people telling me” – get used to it. We are fallen. You can get tired of it, go ahead with your tired self. Rise above what it makes you feel and encourage with love. This entire post seemed smothered with the response of “I’m tired” rather than with love.
“Don’t ask people to write checks on your behalf so you can go travel to Africa for a week and have a new profile picture of you with a bunch of little kids who look different than you.” That’s too bad that you’ve seen a lot of this. I get the overall message though. We need to goo. I get that we need to be uncomfortable. But not everyone wants to rise to action at this kind of rebuke. There’s a time for rebuke, and a time for love, which I know discipline is love.
Overall, I just sensed a lot of pride/frustration over this topic and I know it’s good to write about it. I also know that we need more love. Love can cover so much. I wish you would have made yourself known, writer. I’d love to share my experiences with you.
Best moment, “We need to goo.”
Thanks, Rissa. For the honesty. I think it’s a good start to a good conversation (and a much larger conversation, at that.)
Maybe write your own post detailing your experience? We’ll post it.
BAM!
@Rissa: I think you brought up some very good points. And I absolutely agree that sometimes we need to step back and check our own perspective when we look at something that just doesn’t seem right.
However, I sympathies with this author’s frustration.
However, I don’t blame the good-natured people who want to do something about all the crap they hear about. We’ve got an entire worldview that tells us to outsource our responsibilities. Worldviews are virulently pervasive, and it can take a long, long time to escape them.
So maybe this “rebuke” won’t do very much good to convince someone that he needs to “get off [his] butt and get [his] hands dirty,” but maybe it’s a good reminder for those of us who are trying to mobilize people to tackle the world issues they are passionate about.
We’ve got a lot of complex issues working against us, not just the apathy of individuals and the need for personal transformation, but an infuriating culture that says “don’t worry, just hand this off to the experts, you’re not that qualified anyway.”
I “sympathies” with the author’s frustration? whoops.
Yeah, in earnest I “sympathies” too.
But the sympathizing and the feeling is just a feeling; it changes nothing. So, urging the “doing” is good. It’s SO good. But the overall tone was seemed pointless. And offensive. There’s a way to encourage being uncomfortable, not sure I even know it. But I am glad someone is trying to find the balance.
And taking risks is good! Was that a right risk? It’s a great question. I’m glad it was posted if just for that.
Jesus was loving and offensive. Sometimes saying get off your arse is the most loving thing a person can do.
Sometimes it is tough to receive “the truth in love.” I have had the experience myself of confronting churches who reject people because of their personal characteristics. Their reason? Kind of just because.
If, when I am confronted, I reject, could be an indication I am not interested in the truth because if I was, I would receive it. When you confront others, people will sometimes say you are angry and therefore unloving. I wonder, “How come you aren’t a little angry too?”
Sometimes confrontation is THE most loving thing you can do.
If I don’t want to know the truth, then I shouldn’t follow the one who says “I am the truth.”
I let this post sink in for a couple of days before posting another comment, I think it’s amazing, something that I am often thinking about; local service and missions. I think sometimes it’s often easy for work in far off places to become romanticized, the next amazing Facebook status update and sometimes those are nothing more than glorified vacations (some not all, but I have seen many that are with my own eyes, sometimes just big box Christianity pretending its helping people and calling it relief).
I love to see people fired up over work locally, because just like work in other places or oversees, its needed. I think that if this piece offends you then you might want to spend a little time thinking about if God might be using it to convict your heart on the subject. We are all called to service, we all have our gifts and talents, I think it’s good for everyone to think about how we are using them…
I personally love this post. It shows the necessary relationship between short-term global missions and local ministry. We are all called to leverage our lives and our resources for the purpose of seeing others come to know Christ. It is a known fact that short-term mission trips are mostly for the individual and not the actual missionaries. There is a supernatural transformation and stirring that the Holy Spirit does when our world views are expanded, we rub shoulders with nations of lost people, and we converse and live life with people completely different from us (color, socio-economic statues, religion,etc..). However, there is a great loss when we just come back and don’t handle the stewardship of the people, stories, and lives of the people we meet accross that globe. If what we do globally doesn’t directly affect what we do locally then we missed something. However, I think our ministry on our own homefront is great benefited by those who have traveled and ministered globablly. But if you are a mission trip junky then yo missed something. YOu should become dissatisfied with short term missions. You eventually will need to move your family to the nations that have ruined you for ordinary life or you need to have diplaced yourself in your own city and community for the ONE purpose of the gospel and seeing people come to Christ.
All this to say, what we do globally has to affect what we do locally or we missed the point. And you can’t keep going perpetually without longing for more. So each has it’s place but be careful with the stewardship of experiences, people, and lives you have been entrusted with both globally and locally.