Bystanders Not Welcome

(Last year at the Momentum 2016 Illinois Student Ministries convention, the students, leaders, and attendees raised money to purchase this semi-truck for Convoy of Hope. At the time, we didn't know how many natural disasters would occur this year. We simply provided for a need. Convoy of Hope has responded to many of the disasters we are hearing about in the news.)

I have to admit that hearing stories concerning attitudes toward certain races of people or different ethnicities and seeing cruel responses toward them has left me both angry and heartbroken. It is happening concerning so many people groups in different ways (Puerto Ricans, African Americans, Mexicans, Syrians, etc) and I am disgusted. It can be easy to retreat into a bubble and ignore the reality that these views exist (and not on a small enough scale to not be a problem). It would be so easy to pretend that the world is only filled with the compassion and consideration I see in my community, but to ignore these things would be ignoring the need for a response. It would ignore the fact that I must show others, just as hurt by what we are witnessing, that these negative and devaluing attitudes are not what everyone believes.
      Jesus prayed, “I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do” (John 17:14-16 NLT). Christians are not of this world. We belong to the Kingdom of God. We have a different permanent home. While that is true, it does not excuse us from (1) acting in a way that aligns with the Holy Spirit or (2) from doing nothing while we wait for our time in Heaven. It is not okay to ignore the issues going on here.
      In Luke 11:42, Jesus says, “‘What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.’” He was talking about the religious leaders who claimed to live according to God’s law. While they looked good according to customs, they neglected caring for the people. We can tithe, pray, and read our Bibles, but that does not give us a pass from taking opportunities to show the love of God and helping to act justly. Maybe we cannot control the policies in place, but we can do something.
      Acting on the injustice, cruelty, and neglect we see isn't just an option for Christians. It's not a form of extra credit to God where we will get to gain more favor. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus talks about what it will be like when He separates those going to Heaven from those who are not. Read what He says in verses 34-40 in particular: “‘Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ ‘Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ‘And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”
      We cannot separate loving people (not just with words, but with actions) from loving God. Whatever we do to people (whether lovingly or hatefully), we are also doing to God. When Jesus refers to the people being helped as “the least of these”, it isn’t because He views them as less. That was the audience’s perception of those groups of people. It doesn’t matter how society has labeled different people groups; they are worth our love and our actions. We have a responsibility to (1) see their needs and (2) to respond to them. Don’t let the intimidation of the task keep you from acting, seek God in the matter and He will tell you how to respond to the needs you see.