Help Needed

The weather's been nice in Colorado, but it is turning to snow today. Tomorrow I am scheduled to preach in Copper Mountain, high in the mountains. I expect wintery roads and danger. I am going anyway. I have been going there for several years now, and I don't recall ever failing to arrive or return. Praise God.

The Swine Flu claimed the life of the daughter of one of our church members, this week. The poor lady lost her son to a motorcycle accident this year and now, this. I feel for her. Her daughter was 53. Apparently, thirty four people have died from the Swine flu, in Colorado, and more than four thousand, nation wide. So far, no one has so much as a cold at Eden Valley. Again, I can only thank God. Julie and her kids have the flu, over there in the Yukon, but it looks like they will pull out of it alright. In Africa, my little Shiloh, who burnt her hands badly, now needs help. As far as I can tell, Shiloh is not able to extend her thumb, or thumbs outward. The scarring is going to cause her problems later in life. Janet is trying to find someone to help us with this. I'll do what I can, as well.

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A young man is trying to help my wife with her orphan project. His heart is in the right place, and he works in important circles, as far as I can tell. He and I are having an interesting conversation. He would like my help in encouraging OCI to receive donations for Janet's project, but the donors are not to know we are religiously affiliated. The idea is to get more donations from non-religious people. I resisted the idea softly.

He wrote, "I am motivated because this is the right thing to do, and because the risk of a "lost generation" growing up in Africa is so large, not because I view it as just another channel to do evangelism. Not to diverge, but because so much of our aid work is just a means to evangelize, I don't think we can point to having any large impact on actually solving world problems. I subjectively feel that the Gates Foundation is doing way more to solve world problems than Adventists are."

What follows is my response.

I appreciate what you are trying to do. I can even understand the logic behind your argument. We all should do what we can to help "the world and the lost generation". I am torn, actually. I know you are trying to do a good thing, but if you don't mind my saying so, your view is short sighed, as far as I am concerned. Your vision to help poor orphans will only be half effective. It may be, in the here and now, that the Gates Foundation may help the world more than can the Adventist Church. (That's an exaggeration, in my opinion.) I say that, because, at best, what the Gates Foundation accomplishes will be nothing more than a band-aid fix. If Bill Gates solves more problems than Christianity and doesn't lead anyone to eternal life, what have they actually accomplished? Zipp! What is the point of "actually solving the world's problems" if we just extend life and up its quality, only to delay the inevitable? Everyone is going to die. We should engage in humanitarian work, but not just to make healthy, happy sinners. Rather, we should work to extend life and its quality eternally. That's a goal worth pursuing, don't you think? I really doubt the church could do less than Bill Gates in this respect. Like it or not, the Gospel is the only answer to the world's problems. Have you lost faith in the Gospel? Will you put more faith in what men and money can do? Dear ______, you will end up wasting your life on that program. Jesus wants us to do all we can to help people be healthy, comfortable and happy, but not apart from salvation. Doing all the rest apart from the greater goal is a humanistic waste of time. "Just another avenue to do evangelism," as you phrase it, is not a negative. It is the only approach that does a thorough job of truly helping the "lost generation". I agree that the church is not good at it. It breaks God's heart, and mine, but there is still no other real solution to this world's woes.

The Preacher's opinion . . .