For those who were not able to make it, I promise you that it's worth your time. It's a way to step outside of our western bubble and see how so many in our world really live.
Yesterday was 30 days since we started "30thrupoverty" and since the beginning we have said that we don't want to finish the 30 days and simply return to life as normal. This last few weeks for us as a family have been a time of awakening and dreaming of a better world. A world where 22,000 people do not die every day from preventable diseases, a world where everybody has access to clean water and enough food to eat.
In recent weeks I've become convinced that if we (particularly the American church) look to Jesus and take His word seriously....we can witness the end of extreme poverty. I believe what Gandhi said, " Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed" Ending extreme poverty will only happen if those of us who "have much" are willing to scale back our lifestyle and send our resources to our brothers and sisters who don't have enough to survive. It's also important to accept the fact that ending extreme poverty will certainly have a very real cost to it.
I like what my friend Eric says, "We need to not just be moved, we need to be mobilized" I don't think somebody can go through the "Real Life Exhibit" and not be moved. But, oh how easy it is to only be moved and take little or no action.
It seems like when we start talking about scaling back our lifestyles, perhaps moving into smaller houses, only having one vehicle, going out to eat less, scaling back our vacations, etc... we can so easily find reasons why that's a great idea for others but, we don't necessarily feel called to that. I think we should be asking why we don't feel called to that? The reality is that the USA only accounts for 20% of the worlds population yet we consume 80% of the worlds resources. As Shane Claiborne says, "The world cannot afford the American Dream" If church goers in America are not called to live simpler lives and share their wealth with developing countries, than who is?
For my family and I this means exploring ideas that have the potential to lead to some significant changes in our life. We're looking at moving into a smaller house. (our house is currently on the market but, no offers yet) We're looking at moving closer to a Max Light-rail station so we can sell one of our two vehicles. We're choosing not to look at the ads in the newspaper which constantly tell us that we need more stuff. These discussions and much more are ultimately about asking the question, "how much can we give" This is a shift from "how little can we give and still have a clear conscience" I feel a little strange sharing some of this because these are personal choices that come from God changing our hearts. I don't share this out of pride, at least I don't think I do. I guess I just want to share how conviction into action is playing out in our lives. If all we do is feel convicted about the realities of wealth and poverty and yet we don't actually make any changes in the way we live, then what good does it do to be "convicted?"
God, Please show us the way forward. Help us be better listeners to your word. Show us "normal" by your standards and your Kingdom. Amen.
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