One of my college roommates has been working with inner city kids for years. I remember in school when I would be sleeping in on Saturdays or hanging out on one of the legendary Harding swings with the girl who would become my wife, Robert would be organizing and leading some carnival for these kids or taking them to a camp somewhere or just playing games with them. He's a good man; something I never gave him enough credit for while we were in close proximity. In college, "service" was occasional and sporadic. Actually, now "service" is occasional and sporadic. I would guess it is this way for most Christians and I'd be right. I heard a sermon by a guy in Michigan (not named Rob Bell) about social justice. The preacher/teacher guy confronted the issue of racism which is still thriving in most nooks and crannies of the planet. He told the story of King Ahab and a weak little guy named Naboth. Naboth had a vineyard that Ahab wanted. When Naboth refused to give it to the king, he whined to the queen (Jezebel) and she did what you expect any vile evil person to do; she had Naboth killed. The story is pretty saturated with meaning if you get a chance to read and think about it (1 Kings 21). This speaker made the point that Naboth needed an ally and he brought it home by saying that one of the commissions of the church is to be an ally to those that are allyless. (His name is Marvin Williams and he's a pretty dynamic dude.)
These kids that my friend Robert serves are what Clarence Thomas calls "disadvantaged". Robert has gotten in among them and he is an ally for them. On Monday, I took my lunch break at work and went with Robert and a few other folks with the intention of helping a few inner city kids with some reading skills. I met two kids that were well behind their grade level for reading; which is something that will handcuff them for the rest of their lives if they don't get some help. I sat and hung out with each of these boys for 30 minutes a piece and we worked on spelling words and wrote a story about a lunchbox. These kids have changed me already. Jesus talked alot about giving the hungry some food and the thirsty some water and visiting folks in prison. For a long time I've totally missed a very important part of these commands. I think there is a reason he talks about these small acts of hand-to-hand service. I think he tells us to do this because...when you attach a personal connection to people; when they have names and you know their faces; people in need become impossible to ignore. It is easy for us to turn our backs on folks we don't know but I can no longer ignore those 2 little boys. They need an ally.
Thanks, Robert for doing what you do.
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5 comments:
Alan ... we've become people who are more comfortable ministring behind a computer or telephone than we are face to face. Me included. Thanks for the reminder of what and who is really important.
Amen to your post and to Trey's comment! Jesus wasn't afraid to "get his hands dirty" and we shouldn't be either!
It's amazing how we go into these "service" opportunites expecting to help someone, when really and truly, they help US.
Word of advice to the not-yet-parent...surround your kids early with people who have less than they do, people who talk differently than they do, etc. (We started way too late.) Working in the housing authority has done wonders for our children in areas of compassion, equality, giving and service. Not to mention the fact that when they say they are "bored" with their toys, we're not afraid to remind them that we know children who would really enjoy their toys!
Since we are in close proximity, I'll go ahead and tell you that you're a good kid.
Hey, I saw your mom at Zoe...she didn't even know you had a blog! You need to let her know so she can keep up with you!
By the way, she looked great!
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