Help Us ~

What does God call us to do? The above says it all, so why are things as they are? My answer is, selfishness, lack of caring, wearing blinders, and sometimes fear. There will be times when helping others means sacrifice. That sacrifice can be time or money. Will my taxes go up if I support wheelchair access to all public buildings and sidewalks?

When my children were small they went to a school that originally had four classrooms, now there were six. The kindergarten classroom was in an old storeroom with only one entrance through another classroom; the first grade used the stage, and the second grade had to walk down the street to the neighborhood church. When I helped out with a bond issue to build an addition, several of the townspeople told me that it was good enough for their grandparents, themselves, and their children so it was good enough for their grandchildren. It was a fire hazard, but they didn’t want their taxes to increase. Are we willing to back laws that would upgrade substandard housing for the poor or the elderly? Are we willing to give our time and abilities to help immigrants learn English? When working on a project that helped children receive gifts for Christmas, people were horrified that they wanted items that “they” thought were too expensive. Did these people think that only their children should get popular gifts while the poor should only get inexpensive presents? They were making judgments as to who was deserving of their “generosity.” They never thought about the families who had just lost everything in a fire, whose parents were just evicted because the landlord sold the building, or whose mother or father died.

There are many reasons why people need help. When this psalm was written, it didn’t specify that we should help only the deserving. When Jesus told us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc.; he also didn’t say that they needed to be worthy of our aid. We are only told to reach out and help.