Saturday, June 19, 2010

Comfort or Hardship??

I am sitting here in relative warmth with a rug over my knees and another around my shoulders. I have 3 heaters in the house I could put on if I needed to. I have a wardrobe full of clothes (many that don't fit!!), and more than one pair of shoes. There is enough food in the fridge and pantry to feed me for a week. I even have a room to myself to sleep in.

I am thinking today of my friends in Madagascar - some have rarely slept in a bed by themselves, let alone had a whole room of their own, with a door. They live from day to day just buying enough food for that day. After all, there is no fridge and many only get their money each day as well. They can't save for anything even if they do have work, because the needs of any family crisis, illness, accident, or birth or death, take precedent over whatever they were saving for. They have two or 3 sets of clothes if they are lucky, and no heating in the house - even though it gets cold in winter.

Does God love them any less than he loves me??? Why can't we share more? Why do we spend more on our military budgets than the whole GDP of a nation like Madagascar? I don't get it. But I am thankful for the things I have and hope that I can be generous with those things.

2 comments:

  1. Very good questions to ask. I'm so glad you're feeling hopeful today.

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  2. Yes, I don't know if there are any answers to the questions. At the breakfast this morning we had a questionnaire about how we would like to see women's ministry take off in the church. One of the multiple answers to pick of areas to be involved in was 'justice'... and the others at the table said "What do they mean by that...." I thought it was ironic given what I had written this morning.

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