So tomorrow I star a new adventure as I fly to India for a FOCUS mission trip. Ever since I went to Haiti last year, all I can think about is how desperately bad some people need our help.
Of course, this help that they need isn't what most people would expect. While they do need food and clothing, what they need more is to feel as if they are a true human-being, treated with respect and shown that someone loves them.
Why is it then that when we see someone on the side of the road we automatically feel bad for them because they lack material possessions, cute clothing and food? Is this perhaps because this is what society has taught us will make us happy? We want to give these things to others because we expect that the lack of these things is what is hurting this person. Take a moment. Think of your friend who has the most material possessions and then ask yourself if this person is truly happy. I am going to guess that the answer is probably no.
I have had plenty of friends whose parents work all day every day just so that they can buy them nice things, but at the end of the day they end up just wishing their parents had spent more time with them at home.
What is life without love? To most it would be meaningless. We need to give meaning to other people's lives and it is so easy to do this. A simple smile would do the trick and it is amazing that simply asking someone how their day is can make a difference.
Next time you are walking past someone poorer than you sitting on the corner, before you look at your phone and hurry by, take a second to look over and just smile; acknowledge that they are a human too. In God's eyes, you are no greater than they are.
Actually, I would say that 1/2 of the people you walk by on a normal day are feeling unloved, but you can change that. Someone doesn't have to be homeless to feel like their life doesn't matter. With our society today so wrapped up in ourselves, it is easy to forget that there are actual people standing all around us waiting for someone to simply smile at them and show that they care.
Of course, this help that they need isn't what most people would expect. While they do need food and clothing, what they need more is to feel as if they are a true human-being, treated with respect and shown that someone loves them.
Why is it then that when we see someone on the side of the road we automatically feel bad for them because they lack material possessions, cute clothing and food? Is this perhaps because this is what society has taught us will make us happy? We want to give these things to others because we expect that the lack of these things is what is hurting this person. Take a moment. Think of your friend who has the most material possessions and then ask yourself if this person is truly happy. I am going to guess that the answer is probably no.
I have had plenty of friends whose parents work all day every day just so that they can buy them nice things, but at the end of the day they end up just wishing their parents had spent more time with them at home.
What is life without love? To most it would be meaningless. We need to give meaning to other people's lives and it is so easy to do this. A simple smile would do the trick and it is amazing that simply asking someone how their day is can make a difference.
Next time you are walking past someone poorer than you sitting on the corner, before you look at your phone and hurry by, take a second to look over and just smile; acknowledge that they are a human too. In God's eyes, you are no greater than they are.
Actually, I would say that 1/2 of the people you walk by on a normal day are feeling unloved, but you can change that. Someone doesn't have to be homeless to feel like their life doesn't matter. With our society today so wrapped up in ourselves, it is easy to forget that there are actual people standing all around us waiting for someone to simply smile at them and show that they care.
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