Day 10: Knowing God's Heart for the Poor

For those of you who don't have a copy of the book The Hole in Our Gospel in one of the chapters you can read a story about where the inspiration for the title comes from. Pastor Jim Wallis has preached many sermons on the poor, and he'll often use a special bible of his as a visual aid. Some time back Jim cut out every passage of scripture concerning justice for the poor from that bible. He would stand in front of his congregation and boldly state that this was the real gospel of America. As you can imagine, the book barely held together any longer, and gave a frightful image of how frail our own idea of the gospel becomes when we live lives that are unconcerned for the suffering of the poor.

Personal:
Are there any holes in your gospel? Where have you effectively cut things out of the bible by ignoring scripture or not fully living out God's call to a holy life?

Action:
1. Well, actually, if you've been going to church every Sunday you shouldn't need to ask your pastor what he's been preaching on, so allow me to amend this particular action item a bit. Why don't you ask to meet with your pastor and share some of the things you've been learning during this study. Explain to him why you think it is so important for God's people to really start caring for the poor in a personal and risky way. See where the conversation leads you. I bet your pastor will be encouraged by your enthusiasm, and might even allow you to do a study of your own with people who are completely unaware about the things we've been learning over the past nine days. Pastors generally have a lot on their hands. Rather than point the finger, let's actually be the objects of change that we always expect our leaders to be.

2. Here are some verses on what the bible says about the poor. To read more follow the link below under "Quest Sites."

God's Heart for the Poor

Deuteronomy 26:6-9 "But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, putting us to hard labor. Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey."

Job 5:8-16 "But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. He bestows rain on the earth; he sends water upon the countryside. The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away. Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night. He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful. So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth."

Job 34:17-19 "Can he who hates justice govern? Will you condemn the just and mighty One?
Is he not the One who says to kings, 'You are worthless,' and to nobles, 'You are wicked,' who shows no partiality to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?”

Psalm 10:14 “But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.”

Day 9: Walking with Water

Today's journal reminds me of the day I was baptized. I was on a retreat during high school up in the mountains. On Sunday our plan was to climb to one of the high points of the mountain and have a Sunday morning worship service there. I asked my pastor if he would baptize me then. When I asked, I forgot that there don't tend to be buckets of water waiting on mountain cliffs. The pastor told me I would have to carry the water up myself if I wanted to be baptized. The only thing large enough to carry the water was a big basin. We filled it up with a gallon or two of water on Sunday morning and began our trek. I was a bit arrogant, and thinking myself in pretty good shape, I figured the whole thing would be a piece of cake...guess what...it wasn't. I started in the front of the line and slowly fell back behind my peers until I was trailing several yards behind someone who was really taking their time smelling the roses. By the time I got to the worship spot, which took about 20 minutes to get to, I was completely winded and covered in sweat. It's hard to imagine a walk like that being the daily life of a child for their entire adolescence. And then I wonder how far that child could really stretch 1-2 gallons of water. I use more than that whenever I brush my teeth if I leave the water running.
Water.
It's funny...I can't think of a time in my life when I was thirsty and I couldn't get a drink of water, can you?

Personal:
If you aren't willing to do the water exercise found on the "six week quest" link, then think of something else you can do to make this personal. Put extra books in your backpack. Try only using 1-2 gallons of water today (that means no showers!).

Action:
1. Did you carry the bucket for a mile, and then carry the water back? What was that like? Did any other inconveniences come to mind...like maybe the time it would take you everyday just to get your water. It's easy to see how when your impoverished you're entire day can quickly be taken up just with trying to survive.

2. Check out some stories about people in need of clean water by following the Water article link below.

Day 8: Seeing My Blind Spots

Can I be honest? When it comes to blind spots, I feel like there are so many holes in my field of vision it's worse than Swiss cheese. No one told me that half of the people in the world get by on less each day than I used to get from the tooth fairy! My whole worldview has been affected by the culture I was brought up in. Why didn't my parents tell me that for every tooth I lost a magical fairy would bring some hungry family in the world food for a day? I'll tell you why, because I was a kid, and a kid has no concept or concern for people halfway around the world. But, guess what, I'm not a kid anymore, and I'm guessing you're not either. So what's our excuse now? If we're adults, or at least one our way to adulthood, why are we still acting like kids? Why do we still prefer to use most (if not all) of our wealth and possessions for our own pleasure rather than giving it to people who really NEED it? ...are we waiting for the "charity fairy" to take care of it for us?

Personal:
Where are your blind spots?

Action:
1. List three blind spots you have when it comes to poverty and injustice. Where do you think these blind spots came from, and how can you get rid of them?

2. Did you watch the awareness video? Check it out on the "six week quest" website under "Fill the Hole." What does this video teach us about awareness? Check out the resources link below and look at the statistics. How many of these statistics were you aware of before? Why is it important for people to know this type of information? What sort of difference should it make in our lives once we become aware? Should it change the way we live?

Day 7: Ponder: "The Hole in My Thinking"

Personal:
Have you found this bible study helpful, uncomfortable, challenging, exciting, frustrating or something else? Share what you're feeling, and try to explain why you think you feel the way you do? Have any of the needs you have read about in the past few days captured your heart? Has God spoken to you through this at all?

Action:
1. What are the holes you have discovered in your assumptions about the poor? List at least three.

2. Where do you feel God is calling you to put your "head, heart, hands, and feet" to use in the world? Where does your passion lie, and for whom (the poor, hungry, emotionally traumatized, etc...)? What ways has God gifted you to help others?

Check out the "Browse Programs" link under Quest Sites to learn about more ways you can use your "head, heart, hands, and feet" serving others.

Day 6: Give a Chicken

For $13 I can feed a hungry family for many years...this reality bothers me.
Why, when I have an extra $13 or $15 in my pocket do I start thinking about how I can spend it on myself? Do I spend it on a movie, or do I spend it on a dinner at Chipotle's? Worse yet, I usually think of some reason that I DESERVE that movie or that I DESERVE that dinner. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against movies or Chipotle; but I am curious why my mind wonders toward self-gratification more readily than wondering how that extra $13 could actually do good in the world. One chicken can feed a hungry family for many years, and one movie will entertain me for a couple hours. When we put those two things on the scales it seems pretty obvious what the most logical, ethical, and Godly way to use the $13 is, yet it takes effort for me to think this way, and often effort also requires a level of discomfort and guilt as well. These two ugly cousins work together to dissuade me from actually developing my idea of what is "right" in DOING what is right. Have you ever felt this way? What stops you from using the $13 in pocket to do what's right? Why haven't you bought that chicken yet?

Personal:
Did you buy a chicken or something else from the world vision website? Click our "Buy a Chicken" link in the Quest sites to buy one today. Name three or four ways you have spent $13 in the past few months.

Action:
1. How many chickens do you think you have eaten in your life? How many times have you gone to KFC? How much money do you think that all adds up to? Do you think it's right that many people in America and other parts of the world have gone their entire lives buying and eating literally tons of chickens without ever buying one for a hungry family in the world.

2. What does God expect of you? Seriously, what do you think? All this talk about chickens and $13 has me wondering, what does God really expect us to do with our money?

Day 5: Describe Your Hungriest Day Ever

I choose when I am hungry. This is the thought that I am left with when trying to think of my hungriest moment. The hungriest I have ever been was about 4 days into a 5 day fast which I was doing with my wife. During those five days we would only drink a gross lemonade and syrup mix to provide enough calories to stay functional. It astonishes me to think that I have only come close to REAL hunger during times when I have made an intentional choice to stay away from food. All those other "hungry" moments in my life weren't REAL hunger, they were just little jerks from my stomach telling me it had finished digesting and was getting bored being empty. I think REAL hunger involves a certain degree of actual danger and fear. I was never afraid during that fast with my wife because I knew that if things got too difficult I could just take a trip to the fridge, or even if I passed out from hunger (yeah right) I could go to a doctor and receive medical attention right away. The people in the world experiencing REAL hunger have almost no where to go to get food, and they usually have no one waiting to attend to their medical needs if they begin to starve.

Today was a particularly difficult day for me to post a picture. Usually if I don't have a picture in my own files to post with a blog entry I find one on Google images that is appropriate. I barely finished typing in "hunger" as a google images search before getting choked up. Several images of emaciated children and infants popped up right away. It's hard to imagine an image that better captures how far away this world is from God's Kingdom than the picture of a starving child. How can God stomach seeing these images everyday when I can barely stand looking at them for a few seconds? I had to decide whether I would force you, my readers, to stare at an image that you probably would never have willingly looked upon, or whether I would show a more diluted figurative image that pointed to hunger without showing it's actual ugliness. I went with the latter, because I think each of us has to choose for ourselves whether we are ready to enter into the ugly world of the suffering and the poor. How privileged we are! Not only can we choose to eat or be hungry whenever we like, but we can also choose to turn our eyes away from those who are starving in the world whenever we like... maybe privileged is the wrong word...God have mercy.

Personal:
How would you describe the worst hunger you have ever experienced? Do you think every person should have an inalienable right to food? Why or why not?

Action:
1. Every 3 seconds a child dies from hunger. Why is this important for you to know? How SHOULD this change the life of a person who has access to at least three full meals a day?

2. Check out the 30-hour famine link below in the "Quest Sites." Consider fasting for a few days and pray for people who are hungry the world over. Use the money you save from going without food and donate it to an organization that provides meals for the hungry.

Day 4: Define "Rich"

After checking out the global rich list I was surprised to find that my combined income with my wife puts us in the top 2% of the richest people in the world! This is very surprising to us since we feel as though we are basically scraping by most of the time. I thought by just putting in my income alone I might assuage my guilt, but even without her income I am still in the top 5% of the richest people in the world. Then I thought to myself, "Wait a second, I wasn't always this 'rich,' just a few years ago I made very little as a college student, because I could only work during the summers." I put in my average summer's income, only to find that even when I was at my poorest as a working person I was still in the top 15% of the richest people in the world!

Personal:
The 42-day journal* asks whether you think the wealthy people in the world have enough to eliminate poverty. How much do you think God expects the top 15% wealthiest people** in the world to give to the poorest people in the world? What does God expect you to give? Have you asked Him? If you haven't asked God what He wants you to give, share a prayer in the comments asking Him here and now.

*If you don't have one follow the "Fill the Hole" link titled "six week quest"
**Just in case you're wondering, if you're making more than $2200.00 a year then you are among the top 15% wealthiest people in the world

Action:
1. How wealthy did you think you were before you checked the rich list? How far-off was your guess? How do you think a person's wealth should affect their willingness and desire to give or be generous with what they have? How were you affected by the rich list?

2. Share this link with someone who isn't doing this study, and ask them how it affects them.

Day 3: Pack Your Suitcase

Personal:
Is it hard for you to imagine having hardly enough possessions to fit into a single suit case? Why do you think God chose to place you in such a wealthy abundant place, while he chose to place others in impoverished and desolate environments? Why do you think the wealthy people in the world who have much are for the most part unwilling to share with those who have so little?

Action:
1. What were the five possessions you decided you would keep if all your other possessions were taken away? How do you think you would view those five possessions differently if they were all you had? How would you view God differently?

2. The pictures from Material World give us a visual representation of how little most people own compared to the average American. Do you think this distribution of wealth is fair or just? Why do you think we are encouraged to accumulate so many things in our culture?

To view more pictures from Material World click on the link in the Quest Sites below.

Day 2: Thirsty?

Personal:
What has been like going without water? Did you think to abstain from drinking any form of liquid which is water based--anything besides milk? What would it really mean for your life to have no clean water available to you?

Action:
1. Did you think of faucet's differently after placing the sticky notes? Do you think it's possible to always carry an awareness of what others don't have while we indulge in it ourselves? How would our world look different if more people became aware that 1 in 6 people don't have clean water?

2. Did carrying an empty water bottle, and abstaining from drinking water seem unfair or cruel? What do you think it is like for a person who has no clean water to also live with the knowledge that many people elsewhere have plenty of clean water?

3. If you haven't had a chance already watch the water video, you can find it in the quest links below. How did this video impact you? Does it surprise you that clean water can be provided to so many people for so low a price? Before today, how often did you consider clean drinking and bathing water as a privilege? How often have you thanked God for clean water? Take a moment to thank Him in prayer now.

Day 1: "What does God expect of me?"

The Hole in Our Gospel
At the top of this blog there is quote from Rich Stearns describing how he thinks his book and study might affect people. How do you anticipate being affected by this study? What do you hope to get out of the next six weeks?

Personal:
You were challenged to pray to hear from God over these next six weeks, and that you would obey. If you feel comfortable share your own personal prayer in a comment box below.

Action
1. Did you tell a friend or close family member if your Jesus is God-sized, or if you shrunk him to your size? How did the conversation go? Did they ask you any questions?
2. What did you learn from the Richard Stearns video? Do you agree with Rich that there is a hole in our gospel? Where is the hole in your gospel?

Check out more Richard Stearns Videos through the quest links.