A Call to Action

You've all seen those infomercials on TV that tug at your heartstrings, right? You know, the ones that show starving children in Africa, or children in Bangladesh digging in giant trash heaps for food, or the children living in cardboard boxes in Haiti. I cry every time I see one of those and I think "I should send them some money" or "I wonder if we should 'sponsor' one of those children?". The problem is that as soon as I turn off the TV, the tragic scenes I just viewed get filed comfortably away in the back of my brain somewhere and I get on with my busy, but relatively cozy, life. The greatest problem is not that my inaction does absolutely nothing to stop the evil of global poverty, of course - but that it actually makes things worse.

I came to this conclusion very recently as I was doing some research on atheism (specifically, how to ask the right questions that might at least make an atheist pause to re-consider their point of view). I ran across a website that had the picture below. I was instantly saddened and still can barely look at the image of that sweet child. But it made me realize that I can no longer turn away. The website was obviously using this to mock Christians' belief that God is all-loving and all-powerful. Why would God answer such mundane prayers for finding keys or helping a QB to score a touchdown and not help the most innocent of His children? They clearly don't understand how God operates. The problem of global poverty is not God's fault, but ours.



We as Christians are called to care for our less fortunate brothers and sisters. Now, before you say that you have done something - I know, so have I. I have given money to international organizations like Feed the Children, Food for the Poor, Heifer International, and Catholic Charities. I have also helped out with local charities by providing food, clothes, household items and financial assistance. I hope you've done more than I have, but clearly,whatever we have done collectively, it's not enough.


I realized that I must do more. We have been blessed by God many, many times over and it's time we really started to give something back. My family and I can do more - not just financially, but in prayer and in how we live our lives. Here are some examples of what we are going to do starting today:

• Pray every day for the impoverished and victims of violence
  

• Try very hard not to waste food - eat those leftovers!
  
• Talk to others about what can be done
  
• Sponsor a child

Global Poverty is an extremely complex problem - even Jesus said that we would always have the poor. What can one person or one family do? If you are Catholic, please prayerfully consider joining Catholics Confront Global Poverty - they are trying to encourage one million Catholics in the US to do something about global poverty by doing four simple tasks - pray, learn, advocate, educate. I think most of us can at the very least do the first two. If your are of a different denomination or faith, please look into your organizations to see where you might be able to help.

Here are some links to other good organizations which have high ratings on Charity Navigator:

Food For the Poor
Compassion International
AmeriCares
Catholic Medical Mission Board
Doctors Without Borders, USA

**Please note that I have not included Feed the Children because there is a "Donor Warning" on Charity Navigator.


I also encourage everyone to sign up to receive updates to this blog to find more ways you can help. I also want to hear from you, comments are always welcome!