Wednesday, January 20, 2010

sort of pleased and disgusted at the same time

I just read a tweet that a local church raised $10,000 to help aid the Haitian relief efforts. That's really generous, especially considering that was in less than a week, and the less-than-ideal economic climate.

As a bleeding-heart-type, I totally get that.

And also I don't.

Where are these people when their neighbors are hungry? Where are they when the food pantry is empty and when they see small children running about in the ten degree weather with no hats, no mittens, and no snow boots? How is the kindness so much harder to find when over 60% of children in local schools get free breakfast and lunch (or pay 25 cents for it).

Are these the people who suck their teeth and roll their eyes when mamas use WIC coupons in the grocery line? Or swipe their State Benefit Cards? Or are they the people who quickly hand over the $4.82 that will let the person ahead of them in line get all their groceries that week.

Don't get me wrong, the devastation in Haiti is beyond horrific, and keeps getting worse. I'm not going all Pat Robertson on their sad asses. I just wonder what people are thinking when they consider loving their neighbors.

The one whose face is stained with grief.
The one who has it all together.
The one who works two full-time jobs to feed her babies.
The one from the other side of the globe.
The one you think is lazy.
The one who disagrees with your politics.
The one who offends you.
The one in need.

If only we could all realize that loving our neighbors is a full-time endeavour.
If only.

****updated****
Someone from the Effbook read this post and thought I was writing about the church that raised the money. I was not. I do admit that hearing about a donation of that size in that short amount of time cause me to think of the eleventy bazillion dollars that have been raised worldwide to help the cause in Haiti. It made me think about the staggering number of people who die each day due to malnutrition and lack of available clean water. I thought about how sad it is that we know that there is starvation and filth and poverty and war and abuse of power and a thousand other diseases of the mind and body. And it occurred to me the difference we could make if only we could all realize that loving our neighbors is a full-time endeavour.

9 comments:

  1. You are correct. I know 'love thy neighbor' isn't always the easiest thing to follow, but heck, it would take us miles if people at least tried to keep it in mind a bit more often.

    ReplyDelete
  2. it's astounding and amazing ... and kind of scary.
    i think it's called media.
    which can be good too. i guess.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I see your point and have similar feelings. It reminds me of Rick Warren raising $1M in two days. $1,000,000 ... and yet children in Southern California don't have books and teachers.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I totally agree. Although I think that maybe we do not see the tragedy around us. People hide it out of shame and people think someone else will help. It is sad!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have no idea what church it was, and it doesn't matter. I am POSITIVE there are people sitting right there in that congregation that doen't have enough to get by. In most church situations I have been in it is harder to get help from them, even after sacrificing your pride to ask, than it is to go to DSS. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Shouldn't we be helping the Brother and Sister we see sitting next to us as well as the ones half way around the world? I have been the Mother using the WIC checks and I have been humiliated and made to feel less than, it hurts and it sucks, but whatever it takes to feed my babies. Awesome post I love love love it! :)

    ReplyDelete

talk to me, people. because you know i get all giddy when you do.