What are you going to do.......?

This morning I just can't shake something from my mind. In my mind there is an image of a small African boy. Probably four or five year old. He dips his cup into a bucket of water and takes a drink. The water is cloudy and dirty. This is water that we, as Americans, would think twice about stepping into. Drinking it would be out of the question. But the boy drinks, because he has to, water sustains life. Many of you who may read this blog already know where I first saw this image. Myself along with 8000 others were presented with this image at the 2005 Catalyst Conference. Like everyone else in attendance that day, I was impacted by the pictures and stories. I gave what I could and I am happy that I was able to contribute. That day, 8000 people gave 35 villages clean drinking water that would last generations. Thousands of people will live better and healthier lives because a room full of people gave their lunch and dinner money to help. Do the math - $105,000 raised by 8000 people. That is just over $13 per person. Pocket change to the average American. Just think about the impact the American church could make. The latest census estimates the current population of America to be around 300 million. The same survey shows that roughly 78% of the population claims to be Christian. That's 234 million Christians. Can you even begin to imagine the impact that 234 million Christian men and women could make on the world. If each one gave $13, we would raise enough money to build 1,014,000 wells throughout Africa. I would have to say that would almost, if not completely, eradicate the clean water issue in Africa.

Sadly, I don't think this will ever happen. As American Christians, we don't care about clean water in Africa. We don't care about the children who starve to death everyday in third-world countries. We don't even care about the homeless man who is living in a tent in the woods right around the corner from our own homes. We like to say we care about these things but our actions show something completely different. Our actions show that we are more concerned with homosexuality, politics, and the moral shortcomings of Christian leaders. We are too busy cutting each other down and pointing out where everyone falls short. Whats worse, a homosexual couple getting married or a child dying before ever having a chance to live because there is no food? How about a woman being elected president who does not represent your political views or a daughter being sold into modern day sexual slavery. And then there is the pastor of a church who had a immoral relationship with a homosexual prostitute. Is this more important than the man who is sleeping in the freezing rain and has no idea where his next meal will come from, just because he made one financial mistake? We spend all of our time and a lot of our money trying to make the world adhere to our Christian morals instead of trying to actually love people, impact families and save lives. Where does this all end? When do we stop casting stones. When do we actually start focusing on the real problems in our world. When do we decide to take the light of healing into the world. For me, the time is now. What are you going to do?