This is Day 2 of a five-day exercise on loving and caring for others based on the Good News of Jesus that the Father loves and cares for us. You can read the introduction to these exercises on the Day 1 post.
You are watching television and you see an advertisement: there are desperately hungry and sick children in another country, or perhaps there is a major disaster, and this organization is asking for financial help to meet their needs.
What is your response? Think about it for a long moment.
Jesus Without Baggage 
When you are compassionate, such things really strike deep into our emotional core. My own impulsive response would be to try and help by sending money straight away, but… financially, I can’t.
I have already chosen 3 “causes” I support, so to speak: First, I have been sponsoring 2 children through a Christian organization for several years. I receive regular letters and photo, and I write to them and pray for them. I know that thanks to the sponsorship, they have access to education, healthcare, are taught about the gospel and get a chance at a better future.
Secondly, I support an organization that helps persecuted Christians worldwide, and use their prayer diary to pray for my persecuted brothers and sisters.
Thirdly, I support my local church – we are a small commmunity, not a mega-church, and just about manage to make ends meet.
So what do I do when I see misery and suffering on TV? First I express my emotions, including to God in prayer. And I pray for those suffering people. Then I remember that I am not the Saviour, Jesus is. I cannot help everyone. I need to prayerfully and joyfully decided where my gifts will go, which I have done. So I lay down feelings of guilt and cling to the hope that Jesus is redeeming the world everyday, even when we don’t see it – and each of us has a part to play, but we cannot play EVERY part individually!
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That is a tough one..How can you tell where that money is going, especially in a country like mine where corruption is normal. I could only pray to God to help them.. But I couldn’t give money.
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I never responded to Day One.–as a woman, out alone, if I was close enough to get into and lock my car fast, that’s what I would do. In general, I ignore people approaching me. It’s not safe. As for Day Two–I am on a fixed income. I realized recently that even though I pray constantly for suffering people and for our leaders, I’m no even as faithful as the widow with two mites. I decided to spread my money around. I pick a set amount depending on what’s up with our finances (I just had surgery), and then I choose a particular organization to support that month. I use Charity Navigator to find the most efficient charities. When a big catastrophe happens, like the earthquake in Nepal, I find I can usually send at least a little bit to the Red Cross or other well-respected organization on the ground. I was just praying about Nepal the other day. No more news on how they are doing. God will refresh my memory from time to time, and I pray for people who are no longer a part of the news cycle.
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This really is a tough one. We can’t give money to every cause, nor can we be sure the money we do give is used wisely. There are resources to research charities and how their money is spent, so before giving to any charity I always check that. And as others have stated, remember I am not the Savior but I can pray on behalf of the suffering. It’s hard for me to comprehend all the suffering in this world, and why God allows it to happen.
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These are great answers guys! When we no longer follow legalistic religious ‘rules’, we have to think for ourselves in the light of Jesus’ teaching and actions–so answers will vary as we deliberate these important questions.
Thanks for participating!
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I would contribute what I could.
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