Two freshman girls approached at school during our free period. I was sitting with Peter and Nathan and they came over to say hello. Peter said hello and I introduced myself. They asked if we had any money to go towards preventing domestic violence. I was all for preventing domestic violence but I wanted to see if they knew anything about what they were advocating for. I asked what domestic violence was and they responded, “Wives who are abused and stuff.” I asked where the money was going specifically and they told me they didn’t know and to just give them money. They held a medium sized jar with the words “freshman class” written on it with sharpie. I told them that I wanted to know where the money was going before I invested in their cause. “It goes to a home called Tessa or something.”
“Is that where the women are?” I asked
“Yes, give us money.” They responded.
“Are there children there too?” They started to get rather frustrated with me and called me things like “Meany Face” and “Jerk face”… I don’t know what was specifically wrong with my face per-say, but I could see why they were irritated. I frankly wasn’t interested in giving my money to some place called Tessa that helped women and maybe children with domestic violence somehow.
I went online that night and did a little research on “Tessa”. Found out that it was a home for women and children who were victims of domestic violence. I read all about their program and what they were about and went back and found the girls a few days later. I told them how I would like to donate now that I knew a little more about it but they turned me down saying that the contest was over and it didn’t matter… My heart broke.
It disappoints me to see people who are sympathetic towards the poor but don’t actually care. I would guess that the girls weren’t seriously interested in helping women and children get out of domestic violence, they wanted a pizza party. Is that wrong? I think it is. I believe my generation is capable of more than half hearted attempts at helping women and maybe children at some home called Tessa. I believe that we can make a huge difference as youth to change our communities and our world without the motivation of pizza parties.
Our generation is so capable of accomplishing incredibly more than what we or any former generations have previously done. But how do we call one-another to such heights of action and leave behind this suffocating apathy? How do we inspire a generation?
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome question August. Shane Claiborne said something that stuck me hard, “ I had come to see that the great tragedy of the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor." People hear about the poor, see TV adds for charities, See Santa outside Walmart collecting change for charity, and acknowledge the poor but rarely take a step to get to know the poor. Mother Teresa once said, " It is very fashionable to talk about the poor, but it is less fashionable to talk to the poor." I believe that the more we as a community invite the poor not just to our service projects and our soup kitchens but into our lives, the more we will see a change in the hearts of people. Inspiring people to not just advocate for a cause but to fight on behalf of a human being. Where we as individuals come in is by being examples. Taking time to get to know some folks in our homeless communities, volunteering at places that will get you near the poor and in their environment. Jesus never set up camp and invited people to come visit,. He went out into the world and so was his command to us. We set examples to those around us by our countercultural faith and action that exceeds expectations and precedent. We become more then just advocates but people who are devoted not just to a cause or a social movement but to Compassion. The hope of the poor lies in the hands of those who live a life of Compassion. This is our mission: to be a light in the darkest of places, to be a voice for the silenced, to be courageous when circumstances look hopeless, and to inspire those around us by our unprecedented compassion.
ReplyDeleteGood Blog Matt. You bring up a good point. The majority of this world is motivated by worldly pleasures.
ReplyDeleteTotally! Gives a new twist on the ol' verse "store your treasures in heaven" huh? Imagine the world we would have if more lived by that!
ReplyDeleteSo true. Rebecca Patterson interns at Tessa, Matthias. You should talk to her about it. It's a great place, I think.
ReplyDeleteMatthias...Laura is right! I work there, and would be happy to pass along any donations of time, money or resources you'd like to make! :) It's a fantastic place!
ReplyDeleteMatthias,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog the other day and inviting me to read yours.
You make a great point here and you're definitely on the right track when it comes to truly caring for the poor and expecting a higher standard from those who collect for causes. Most people who give intelligently want to know where their money is going and that is exactly how it should be. I think you are also finding that relationships are key to this whole issue. There is a way to motivate people to collect for the poor based on fear, guilt, and even greed. But those aren't the right motivations. It can be done in a way which shows the person doesn't really care for you or the person you are supposed to be helping, and that seems to be the experience you had.
It seems like you found out with some investigation that the organization is a good one, it just didn't have the right people representing it. They didn't really believe in the cause because they had a different motivation.
It's nice to see that others are stepping in (with their comments) to fight for the reputation of the organization based on their knowledge and personal connection with the place.
Keep up the good work. Here's a verse that motivates me to defend the poor. It's also a reminder of how important it is to speak truth on their behalf.
"Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy."
(Proverbs 31:8-9 ESV)
Thank you so much! Love that verse, haven't come across that one before so thank you brother :) Very encouraging. Your analysis is 100% correct, Relationships are key and caring for the cause your fighting for is very important haha. The thing that scares me is that others might have had the same experience and close themselves off to the idea of getting involved completely. That is why writing this blog I thought was important. Thanks for the comment man!
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