What does Compassion look like?

I ask myself this question often: "What does Compassion look like?" What does it really mean for me to become a compassionate person who cares deeply about the world that I live in? Let's face it, life moves quick. It's easy for me to get consumed with my job, my marriage, my children, my success, my money, my interests, my dreams, my passions...my life. It's so easy to get caught up with the stuff that revolves around me. But what does it really look like to be a compassionate, other-oriented person?

Being compassionate takes time. Its takes time to leave my world and enter the lives of others. It takes time to find people who need hope and care and then enter their world. It take time to demonstrate love and care to others around me. One organization that shows compassion really well is Compassion. Compassion International (http://www.compassion.com/) is an organization focusing on child sponsorship in some of the world's poorest countries. For $38 a month a regular person (like me) can sponsor a child and give them food, clothing, shelter and a true hope that can only be found in Jesus Christ. Compassion's work in these countries is not only compassionate and caring but timely. Compassion meets the needs of some of the world's most vulnerable and hurting children. Compassion gives children opportunity and hope...all as a result of one person giving $38 a month. Compassion does a great job at giving children the basic human necessities, which it turn means HOPE. To me, this is worth it! Sponsorship is worth it!

This Sunday, my church is having a Compassion Sunday. We'll be highlighting the mission of Compassion and then giving people an opportunity for others to sponsor a child. As I was thinking about this Sunday, my mind goes to my own sponsored child, Minoungou who lives in Burkina Faso. Our family has sponsored Minoungou since 2006 and he's been a joy to watch develop and grow.

In the summer of 2006, I had the opportunity to visit Minoungou at his home in Burkina Faso. I visited him again in 2008 and will see him once again this next summer. I love visiting him. I remember that first visit in 2006 like it was yesterday. I was driven by a Compassion representative into Minoungou's village and eventually arrived at his home. His mother and little sister greeted us. They were each shy and apprehensive. The gifts (bubbles, crayons, bubble gum, clothing) helped "break the ice". It was surreal as I sat on a broken down chair and watched as Minoungou opened gifts, smiled and interacted with me (through our interpreter). This visit rocked my world and my life! I've never been the same. For the first time in my life, I saw with my own eyes what the power of child sponsorship can look like. I saw what a simple sacrifice on my behalf could do in a life like Minoungou's. I vowed to never forget what I saw and always be an advocate for children who need hope and ultimately sponsorship. This interaction with my family's sponsored child marked my life, and I never want to forget this interaction.

This all leads me back to my question, "What does Compassion look like?" It looks like Compassion. Being compassionate means going after ONE. Being compassionate means pursuing ONE. Being compassionate means rescuing ONE. It's all about the ONE. It's not about the masses...it's just about being an agent of love and grace towards the ONE.

Lord, continue to make me into a compassionate man.

The NEW idolatry

Idolatry has always existed. Humans have historically gravitated towards idols. We make them, allow them, erect them and then worship them. God forbid idolatry in Exodus 20 and the bible is laced with passages that warn people from putting anything or anyone (an idol) before the one, true God. Idolatry was never and never will be tolerated by the Eternal One, who calls Himself Jealous in Exodus 20:5.

Idolatry looks different now that it did in Old Testament times. In 1 Kings, God repeatedly told the people to forsake their idol Baal, and instead cling to the Lord. In Isaiah 47, the scriptures say, "I am, and there is none besides me". God has identified Him as the only one worthy of our worship and affection. Today, there are idols all around us. We don't call them idols but they are. Wikipedia says that an idol "is a man-made object that is worshiped in some way". Man makes it. Man likes it. Man worships it.

Technology can easily be an idol. Video games can be an idol. Facebook can be an idol. Tweeting can be an idol. Blogging can be an idol :). Cell phones can be an idol...that's right, cell phones can easily be an idol. It's amazing to see how fast our world is moving and its technological advances. A high school student can take a picture in a classroom in Warren, Ohio and upload that same pic and it can be seen by a total stranger on the opposite side of the world. I've seen how cell phones can be helpful for families in keeping in touch with each other. On the other hand, I've seen how cell phones can easily become an idol.

Remember an idol is something that we can't live without. An idol is something that we wake up thinking about...and go to bed having on our mind. People go to school with their phone, go to work with their phone, eat with their phone, go to bed with their phone, go out on dates with their phone...and often it seems unfathomable to some to actually live and function without that phone. When one becomes so dependent on a piece of technology, in this case a cell phone, a case could be made that it has become an idol in one's life.

I recently heard a high school student say that "they can't live without their phone". I don't know how to get around the fact that this is sin...this is idolatry. This student has determined that in their life that there time and what they do will be centered around this phone. The phone becomes the focus. The phone becomes the object one can't live without. This forces our fierce and loving God to be Jealous. The simple phone that was designed to be a tool is now an addiction, an obstacle and an idol that is preventing one from being dependent on God Himself.

Now, is it wrong to have a cell phone? Absolutely not. I have one and use it everyday. However, I know that I can function without my phone. I know that my life will go on without my phone. The world won't fall apart and my friends lives won't fall apart if I have to go without my phone for a period of time. Life will go on. The world will still function. However, there are people who are so addicted to their phone, that it has become an idol. Instead of using it as a tool and mastering the phone, the phone now masters them. They can't put it down. They can't function without texting. They have to have it. It's become an idol.

Lord, keep my heart soft. Keep me pliable so that I don't allow any idol to be present in my life...including my cell phone.

Never Thought I'd be a Money Lender

I love dreaming. I mean, I love trusting God to do big stuff...things that I can't really pull off on my own power. Two years ago, I started reading and studying micro-credit in third-world countries (you can see some of my previous posts). I was intrigued and then I became challenged. I became challenged and convinced that God wanted me to step out and do the very thing that I was reading about---lending money to some of the world's poorest people. I started to network with people who were involved in micro-lending and I started to ask questions. Through a friend, I was put in touch with a young man in Burkina Faso who desires to be involved in micro-lending. So, to make a long story short...here is what happened.

After 8 months of dialoguing with my new friend in Burkina Faso, writing up a job description and then drawing up loan guidelines, the time came to send the money. Make no mistake about it...a lot of thought, prayer and dialogue went into it (a lot of details)...but eventually I had to leap. I had to risk and trust God. So, a friend of mine and Mandy and I decided to invest some money and lend it to some poor people in Burkina Faso. We've invested our monies in a small village 28 miles outside the capital city of Ouagadougou. Twenty-nine different women received small loans of money to be put towards their small businesses. These loans will in turn empower these women and hopefully lift them out of poverty. They are given 9 months to re-pay the loans. If they re-pay the loans with a small interest rate attached, they will qualify for a second loan.

So, right now, the money that was sent is on the other side of the world in the hands of twenty-nine different women who I have never met. It's cool to see God do what I was unable to pull off on my own strength. I have so many limitations. God has no limitations. He's eternal and Creator of all. Trusting Him leaves me (and you) in good hands.

My prayer is that these monies would be used to lift many out of the grip of poverty and give them a hope. Here's another cool part. Every person who receives these monies will hear about this God who created them and loves them with an undying love. My friend (who is doing all the legwork for me) has been tasked with sharing the gospel of Jesus with these precious people. So, it's not just about lending them money, rather I want to see people place their faith in the Jesus who can change circumstances and one's eternal destiny.

More to come on my micro-lending venture. I'm excited. I love to talk about it and share how God is using these monies to help the poor and needy on the other side of the planet.
If this intrigues you, I'd love to share more with you. If you want to give, I invite you to prayerfully consider. It's exciting how a small amount of money can change the trajectory of one's life. Feel free to email me with any questions or comments. I'm all ears.
Stay tuned...more to come on micro-lending and how we can care for the poor in our world.

"He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord" Proverbs 19:17