Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Facts Every Christian Should Know

  • Every 3 seconds a child dies from disease.
  • Every 7 seconds a child dies from hunger.
  • 11 million kids under 5 die every year from malnutrition.
  • Poverty kills 20,000 every day.

  • There are 6.4 billion people in the world.
  • The "developed world," of which the US is a part, comprises less than 1 billion people.
  • 1.2 billion people attempt to live on less than $1 a day.


    I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor
    and upholds the cause of the needy.

    Psalm 140:12 (all passages NIV)

    The righteous care about justice for the poor,
    but the wicked have no such concern.

    Proverbs 29:7

    Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.
    Speak up and judge fairly;
    defend the rights of the poor and needy.

    Proverbs 31:8

    31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

    34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

    37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

    40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

    41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

    44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

    45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

    46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

    Matthew 25:31-46

Reference #1
Reference #2

Engage.


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8 comments:

New Life said...

It is nice to see that you are moved by this and are responding. I was once on a "chat room group" who would have considered posts like this to be "liberal". Sad, but very true. One clown even mentioned that "the Bible" said there will always be poor folks, almost as an excuse to justify his ignorance or indifference. He probably is wearing a wrist band now that is "hip" for Christians to be turned on to the social gospel.

I JUST made a post that is related to wristbands and my indifference. I don't need more readers to my blog, so this isn't a plug for my blog, but you may find the post interesting. I invite and encourage you to visit.

Thanks for posting this link.

Mike Todd said...

Stephen - I try not to be pessimistic but I think you may have caught me on a bad day... My experience has been that many, many Christians are not interested in hearing the stats you started off your post with.

I now have 2 blogs - Waving or Drowning, which deals (primarily) with faith issues, and 3Click, which deals with justice and mercy issues. I segregate them this way for a couple of reasons. First, there are those who are into the justice and mercy stuff but don't share our interest in faith issues. More power to them... I'm trying to provide a resource.

Sadly, there is a flip side to this coin. There are those who love to talk about faith issues who don't give a rip about justice and mercy.

I realize I'm painting with a broad brush here; there are many people I interact with who do not fit this mold. But if you figure out what to say to those who would rather believe in Jesus than do what he said, please let me know.

Stephen said...

Thanks guys. This is new but exciting and sobering (at the same time) territory for me. still wrapping both my brain (propositional and conceptual) and my arms (transpropositional) around it!

Anonymous said...

I'm really surprised (and saddened in a way) to read Mike's comments here. I see Mike -- the Executive Director of Linwood House Ministries (formerly Global Action Canada) -- as a major voice in Canada on issues of justice.

He may be really savvy to separate his thoughts on faith from his thoughts on justice (because, as he states, the audience remains somewhat split on the two topics), but I don't see how that helps move the conversation forward. We ought to all be working vigilantly to bring these two worlds together, as they should be.

Just my two cents (also e-mailed to Mike).

Shalom,
Steve K.

http://www.knightopia.com/journal/

Obi-Mac BakDon said...

Actually Steve,

Some of that may have come from conversations Mike and I have had.

As One.org leader in the Bay Area (San Francisco) I found quickly that I needed to create some distance because of the "baggage" so many have regarding Christian faith.

I think it is obvious that Jesus is right in the middle of this...look at the groups involved and how they love.

Look at how politics is being transcended and the incarnational aspect.

All that being said. I think Mike has articulated it wonderfully in his recent post at WorD.

This is obviously a deeper discussion.

All of you guys are wonderful. I have the advantage of having Rick here local.

And it's very cool that independent of each other we have come across the same folk.


But we should continue this discussion.

Mike Todd said...

More thoughts on the subject (sort of) over here.

Anonymous said...

I agree, BUT...if you read the facts every Christian needs to know and DO NOT CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE, you are a hypocrite...plain and simple.

How many Christians that "feel" strongly about this or that are in credit card debt, overweight, have a room full of useless gagets and things...how about that kiddie room full of crap!

God wants us to be responsible with our responsibilities as well as have a heart and mind towards the weak and defenseless.

Clean the inside of your cup while saving the world.

Also...how many are making sacrafices in personal holiness both at home and work? It is EASY to write a check or wear a stupid braclet. It is hard to be righteous at work when your boss might pass you up for promotion because you won't go with the bogus flow.

I check in here from time to time and never hear any posts of witnessing or discipling anybody.

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus to you guys? Debate, more theology, conferences and seminars?

Stephen said...

anonymous,

thanks - some helpful thoughts.