What is your World Vision?

This is Lewal. Lewal lives with his parents and 2 brothers. His parents struggle to provide for the family. His father is a farmer and his mother is a farmer. Despite their efforts it is difficult to meet the family's needs.

Lewal is growing up in a farming community in the Kwame Danso region of Ghana, almost 300 miles from Accra. A typical home is built of heavy mud with a thatched roof.

My family has been sponsoring Lewal through World Vision for about 5-6 years now.

There is a lot of poverty and hunger in the world. We forget that sometimes in our comfortable homes. We worry about mortgages, taxes and who's going to win the World Series. Across the world, other people, just like you and me, are wondering if they are going to have anything to eat tomorrow.

If you honestly sit down and think about all of the pain and suffering in the world it can be overwhelming. That's why many times it is easier just to block it out. It's much easier to go back to worrying about our own petty problems than worrying about life and death around us. What can we do anyway?

There is some good news. The good news is that it's not your problem to fix the world. God has a plan of redemption and a promise to bring forth a new heaven and new earth. However, it is your calling to have love and mercy for the poor and the oppressed in our current fallen world.

God has a purpose for each of us in our lives. I have a really good hunch that none us have a divine purpose to just accumulate wealth or just tread water in our lives, every day until we die. Our calling is to show the world the love of God to others.

For some, that calling takes them into the ministry, and in some cases it takes them into the mission fields far from home. For some, that calling has them living in the suburbs where their mission fields are their neighbors and their co-workers. Frankly, I'm not sure which calling has more challenges.

Regardless of where God calls us to serve, we are all called, as Christians, to take care of the poor, the hungry, the sick and the oppressed. There are no valid excuses for ignoring the suffering around us.

There are many ways you can serve. World Vision, offers a way for those of us with much to help the children in this world that have less than even a little. Through World Vision, you can sponsor a child or an entire family for about the cost of a tall coffee from your local coffee shop each day. You can make a difference, providing clean water, nutritious food, health care, education and spiritual nurturing.

Fixing the suffering in the entire world is an overwhelming task. However, the opportunity to help the world, one child or one family at a time is available to you today.

Visit my sponsorship campaign page for more information about joining me in helping to change a child's life. Isn't it time that you had a "World Vision"?

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Father Knows Best: Blessed are the poor

I have four awesome kids and I love them beyond words. So when they ask me for their hearts desire and it is something I can afford, how do I say no?

I remember when I was growing up that my Dad said many times that he wanted to give to us boys because his parents could not afford much when he was growing up. I did not get everything, but there was not much I didn't get that I wanted. So what did I get that I just had to have?

I have no idea.

I got lots of stuff and I can remember some of the stuff I had, but I certainly can't remember any gift that made my heart swell and think, "Wow! My mom and dad really do love me!" I'm sure some of the stuff I got really made me happy when I got it but over time, the joy brought by that gift was forgotten. Why is that?

We are basically born selfish and prideful. What is one of the first words we learn? "Mine!"

When parents feed that selfish desire it grows. If we continue to feed this desire it soon becomes almost impossible to turn back. When we do try to say no, we risk being pulled into psychological warfare with our little loved ones and we discover that they are really good at it. (How do they learn to push our buttons like that?)

Before we know it, we are giving to our kids out of guilt or avoidance of conflict rather than out of love.

What if we had no money to give our kids anything? What if the children in the picture above were you're own children? How would you show them that you love them if you can't give them any stuff?

It's really an easy question. We'd hold them. We'd console them. We'd give them our portion of food. We'd pray for them and do whatever we could so they did not have to scrounge for food in the streets. Basically, we'd love them.

The problem we have in America is that even most of our poor are rich. For most of us, we can feed those selfish desires in our kids until they pop. It's an easy way for us as parents to attempt to show love. It's an easy way to keep the peace. What becomes increasingly difficult is saying "no".

However, saying "no" once in awhile may be the greatest gift you can give your children. They will already have more stuff than they will ever really need and any stuff you give them will soon be forgotten. But if you can teach them that the world is not about stuff, then you have given them a great gift that will not only always be remembered, but it may just save their soul.

Matthew 19:21-22 (ESV)
²¹ Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
²² When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

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God Loves the Panhandler

If you live in a medium to large city then you are well acquainted with the panhandler. These men and women hang out on our busiest street corners, holding up signs asking for work, food or money. If you're like me you may fluctuate between feelings of guilt and feelings of indignation when you're confronted with one of these folks at a red light. On one hand, there is the guilt, because just by the fact that you do not need to hang out on the street corner, looking for handouts, you are are better off. "Do I deserve what I have?" On the other hand, there is the indignation, because we are sure that they are where they are because of decisions they made and continue to make.

Do you find yourself repeatedly coming to God with your hands out? Do you seem to have the same problems over and over again?

God, please help me get these bills paid off, I need to feed my family (and I need a house in a good neighborhood, a new car and of course HDTV satellite).

God, why is my marriage falling apart? (Maybe I need more time away on the golf course - time for me or I'll explode).

God, help me get get through to my teenage daughter. Why does she insist on wearing such tight pants (Cool, my SI swimsuit edition came in today).

God, keep my children safe as they go off to college. Don't let them forget everything we've tried to teach them by taking them to church every Sunday. (Does the new season of Grey's Anatomy start this week or next?)

Do you get the picture? We ask God for help with our hands out but then we make the same decisions over and over again that send us right back to God to bail us out again and again. God does not mind us coming to him with our hands out. In fact, we can do nothing on our own. However, what is our intention? Do we have our needs and wants all skewed? At least the gentleman in the picture above is being honest with us.

God may not be any more interested in throwing us a couple of blessings that he knows we'll squander, than we are interested in throwing our local panhandler a few bucks we know he'll spend on drugs or alcohol. However, I know God does not look at us and feel guilty and I don't believe he looks at us with indignation either. Fortunately for us, God loves the panhandler.

Do you think the next time you see your local panhandler you can look at him or her through God's eyes? Of course, you'd need to make eye contact to do that.

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