2A
FAITH focus
F
ASSION FOR THE POOR Continued from page 1A
AITH W
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of that day were so blind to justice said, “As long as there are children from happening. You don’t have ac- tithing seriously, we could change the
Panel leader mixed
and to mercy!” And yet we here we starving in the world we’re not going cess to good schools, good health world. Jesus had a plan that could rev-
on Obama speech
are doing it all over again with the sin to have fine china.” Perhaps you see care, clean water. Who of us has olutionize the world.
Felicia Gaer, chairwoman
of our generation: our failure to ad- the irony: Some 20 years later, I’m worked for our clean water? We just
of the U.S. Commission on
dress the disparity between the now the CEO of Lenox China and turn on the tap and it’s there. You’ve So what can one person do?
International Religious
wealthiest and poorest nations in the Crystal. But I would say that in my got the lack of the rule of law, which is Everybody can do something. It
Freedom (USCIRF), has
world. We’ve got a long way to go to adult life, more than my friends and especially terrible for girls and can be as simple as sponsoring a
praised President Obama’s
take our brothers and sisters in Africa fellow churchgoers, I had a real con- women who are raped and abused child for $1 a day, and you’ve made a
June 4 speech in Cairo,
and Asia and lift them up to a hu- cern for the poor. I think God put it in and trafficked. And difference. If you’re
Egypt, for its support of
mane standard of living. my heart. My wife had a very strong on that web are an organizer, you
religious minorities. But she
concern for the poor. We gave liberally marauding spiders
wishes he had stressed U.S.
What do you find motivates people to World Relief and our church’s mis- as well. Things like
‘As bad as we
can organize a
group in your
commitment to curbing to do something? sion programs. AIDS and malaria
religious abuses. “All I’m Sometimes it’s the brutal facts. We But it wasn’t until 1998 when that and human traf-
might think we
church. Take an
issue, or a piece of
saying is he could have live in insulated bubbles in America; phone rang, and it was the recruiter ficking—the
sprinkled [his speech] with
we can get along quite fine without saying, “World Vision’s looking for a things that prey
have it here, the
geography: “We’re
going to pick a
a few more examples of
ever having the desperation of the new president.” And I heard God’s upon the people
problems and what the
poor intrude on our voice on the line: “Do caught in that web
poor in the
community in
Honduras and
U.S. is doing to solve
protected lives. I tell you remember that that they’re de-
them,” Ms. Gaer told
stories of real people young man in 1974 fenseless against.
developing world
we’re going to ded-
icate ourselves to
Religion News Service.
who are living in who was so passion- We tend to have
“This is not America versus
desperate circum- ate about starving this attitude—
have it so much
being their part-
ner.” Find a way to
the Muslim world; these
stances, but then I children that he even if we won’t
are universal values that
say: “They don’t have wouldn’t have fine say it in polite
worse.’
be a neighbor to
this community.
we are trying to uphold at
home and abroad.”
to live like that. That’s china? Look at who company—that we You can find a
—Richard Stearns
USCIRF, an independent,
really our choice you are today. You think the poor are community in Dal-
bi-partisan panel, advises
whether these chil- are Mr. Fine China. lazy. “Nobody las. Now, you have
the White House and
dren have to die of But do you still care needs to be poor”—that’s the Ameri- to enter into the pain a little bit, and
Congress on religious
starvation or for lack about these kids? can view. Well, let me put you in a that’s not easy. That’s human nature.
freedom issues.
of clean water.” I’ll give Because if you do, rural village in Zimbabwe and take We have to get over that. You can be
statistics. The lack of I’ve got something everything away from you and say, an advocate for an issue or a person.
Home schoolers’ clean water is probably different in mind “OK, pull yourself up by your boot- You can influence legislators. You can
numbers on rise the No. 1 contributor to for you, my friend.” strap.” The poor people I meet are the influence your neighbors. We all have
The number of home- child mortality in the Obviously my hardest-working people I’ve ever seen networks of friends. It can be as sim-
schooled students in the world. Probably half eyes have been opened in my life. The only poor who survive ple as teaching a Sunday school class
U.S. has nearly doubled those deaths are water-related: diar- up so much more in 10 years at World are the ones that have managed to and teaching kids more about the
since 1999, according to a
rhea, parasites, guinea worms—you Vision. Seeing is believing; seeing is survive despite unbelievable odds. world.
recent study by the
name it. The cost to bring clean water profound. Until you go and see it, it
Department of Education.
is one dollar per person per year. doesn’t change your life. Many people And yet they’re often so joyful, too. What would you say to someone
An estimated 1.5 million
That’s the cost of drilling a well for a go on short-term mission trips to a That’s the amazing thing. I’ve been who responds: “The economy is too
school-age children were
village in Africa, divided by the num- difficult place and it is life-changing. on trips with American teenagers who uncertain. I can’t give right now.”
taught at home in spring
ber of people that live there times the Usually they come back and say, “I have their i-Pods in their ears and As bad as we might think we have
2007, up from 850,000
number of years the well will be oper- never knew.” What they’re really say- they could care less about anything it here, the poor in the developing
reported in 1999. More
ational. We sit here and say, “We’ll ing is they never grasped the depth of they’re seeing, and they’re bored and world have it so much worse. Most of
than eight in 10 home-
schooling parents said they
never solve global poverty. How can suffering and poverty that is there. unhappy. And here are these kids in us are not on the verge of life and
wanted to provide religious
we ever tackle something so big and The way we’re wired, we have to make Africa that are just full of joy, they’re death. We’re not starving to death.
and moral instruction, and
so hard?” Well, a dollar would be a it personal, because otherwise it just singing and praising God, and they We’re not dying of preventable dis-
36 percent said that was
start, because that would bring clean becomes an intellectual construct. don’t have anything. They don’t have a eases.
the most important reason.
water to a child for a year. soccer ball to kick around. They wrap At first, I thought, “What a terrible
What are the factors that up newspaper and plastic bag with time for my book to come out—a
Wikipedia halts What prompted your own contribute to poverty? string and that’s their soccer ball. book about challenging people to
Scientologist edits involvement with the poor? It’s like being caught in a web of look at the poor!” But I actually think
Wikipedia, the Web-based
I was a brand-new Christian when causes. One strand is economic depri- What would you like to see it’s a good time for my book to come
encyclopedia, has banned my wife and I got engaged, and she vation, where you live in a place happen? out, because if you read the book you
the Church of Scientology said we had to register for our china where there is no economy—and cor- I dream of a time when Christians will feel so fortunate and so blessed
and some of its critics from and crystal. I got very indignant and rupt governments that prevent things are motivated by compassion. What if by what you have. We’re looking at
editing entries about the
we as a Christian community started what we’ve lost instead of what we
controversial religion.
to take seriously the “love your neigh- have. We have so much more than
Wikipedia’s arbitration
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