In a recent men’s group we discussed the topic “Living Without Warranties.”  That is a great topic especially in the dark economic environment we find ourselves today in the U.S. We talked about the leadership role we have as godly leaders in our families and tackled some of the practical things we can do and the values of facing an uncertain future.

When I came back to the office I reviewed a message by John Piper entitled “What is Recession for?” He too was speaking to the value of living in tough economic times. He has five positive things that can come out of this economic downturn. You can catch the full message at www.DesiringGod.org, but I just want to focus on the second point he makes which is to awaken us to the world of poverty.

“Recession hurts us. It imprisons us. What is God’s aim? That we would wake up. Does this recession bother us? If it bothers us, we should be bothered by the fact that millions always live in recession. Only live in recession.”
That is a powerful statement. I have traveled in many countries over the past 30 years and have seen the devastation of lives as they search for a way to provide for themselves and family. It is overwhelming to walk through a community where thousands are crowded together living in shelters with dirt floors. Where the only way to find food is to beg or dig through the trash near a restaurant. I have watched children living on a dump scavenging through the stench to find a can or something of value so they can eat that day. I have watched women take their goods to market, sit there all day in the tropical sun or a downpour to make a dollar to help feed, cloth, house their families. I have seen kids abandoned due to the AIDs crisis.

It is too overwhelming and we should just throw up our hands and retreat to our isolated world. NOT! What God created us for is to get involved. That is why He said we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves. So what can we do? As a family we can pray for specific people that we know are in economic trouble, be it in our neighbor or someone in our world. We can find a cause that is making a difference in lives of people and help support that organization with your time, talent or treasure. You can get face to face with others in desperate need. Recently a local business man took his teen age daughter to Ethiopia and her heart was touched by the young mothers at the Fistula Hospital. She will never be the same.

The challenge is to stretch our comfort zone, wake up to the reality of poverty and take action.