Maslow Again...

While in church today, a couple spoke about their humanitarian mission. The sister related a couple stories about what is going on. The church is not proselyting in some countries, because they are not allowed to. However, certain countries are still allowing churches to give them aid. And, this is where the church volunteers' efforts really touched me.

I like the idea of helping the poor and needy and when I see them in well-developed countries like ours, it makes me feel less charitable towards them. I know that this is not really how charity works, but we definitely live in the land of opportunity. So many things are at our disposal. In the middle of the night, I can jump in my truck and drive to a convenience store and buy toenail clippers. I can go to a job every day where I sit in a relaxing air conditioned building which supplies me with filtered water and an endless supply of information. I can fly for a couple hours and visit my parents in a city which has perfect weather most of the year round.

So what? So what! So what. Why state the obvious? Why worry about something we cannot do anything about? Or why worry about something we are not going to do anything about?

There are people starving, dying, clamoring for something to hold onto in these other countries. Very simple things.

Water
The water I get at work is being filtered again after the previous filtering station which did not make it taste good enough for me. The sister brought up how the volunteer church members go to these villages and help the people find their water source. Then, they set up filtering mechanisms for the people to use. And, I imagine they are not getting the treatment that I am where I get it to taste good too. But perhaps the water tastes more delicious to them, because they are not getting dysentery or diarrhea from it anymore.

Blindness
I just got contact lenses about a month ago. Glasses were a real pain. They do not look good at all. The sister told of how the volunteers are helping those with blindness due to cataracts. They are teaching the doctors in those countries how to perform the surgeries themselves. I do not have cataracts, but I get an eye appointment every year to check up on all those things.

Mush
In an area of Africa, there is this type of mush which was created to feed the masses. This became their staple. The story went that the volunteers brought the mush back to the states and analyzed what was in it. They then improved it by adding vitamins and nutrients to it. They sent it back in this improved form. My wife turned to me and commented that it was Manna.

Exactly! This is the practical application of a Biblical story we have heard about and not really known what to do with. God fed the Israelites for 40 years with food which they could not supply for themselves. What is wrong with us helping to feed the starving nations who are having difficulty with the basics? And, when a people is having trouble with the basics like food and water, the last thing they need is a new religion being preached to them. I think the Gospel is important in people's lives of course, but this kind of service is the good news the poor needs to have first and foremost.