DO Something

Question: what is your FIRST thought when you see a homeless person? When you see someone dirty & covered in filth? When you can smell someone? When you see someone with a cardboard sign on the street corner?

Unfortunately, most of us think: "Go get a job." We don't have much compassion & certainly seem to look the other way as we drive past the dirty man with a cardboard sign asking for food.

HOWEVER, the Bible calls us to have a completely different attitude. In fact, 1 John 3:17 tells us "if anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" Huge callout. If you have no compassion or love for those in need, can God's love really be inside of you? Absolutely not. James 1:27 tells us "religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." The call to love those in need. The call to provide & take care of those who lack.

But HOW? Great question. There are so many ways to ACT out God's love. You can go find a person in need & give them some clothes & food. You can go minister to & love a homeless person. And you can even do it with the click of a mouse. Below are just SOME of the many ways to get involved in taking care of the poor, orphaned & widowed. To take care of those in need. Check these out:

1. Invisible Children --> is a media-driven organization with a mission to expose & help end the war in northern Uganda & it's affect on child soldiers. http://www.invisiblechildren.com
2. TOMS Shoes --> is a shoe company with a great & simple mission: With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One. http://www.toms.com/
3. Call It Captivate --> is a clothing company started by Bryce Avary of The Rocket Summer to encourage people to give to others in need. When you purchase an item they give 25% or more to a mission YOU decide. http://www.callitcaptivate.com
4. Blood:Water Mission --> is a grassroots organization that empowers communities to work together against the HIV/AIDS and water crisis through creative social action. http://www.bloodwatermission.com
5. Food for the Hungry --> is a child sponsorship program designed to walk with churches, leaders & families in overcoming all forms of human poverty by living in healthy relationship with God & His creation. http://www.fh.org/

So you see, it's actually quite easy to ACT. It does us no good just to know about these things. James tells us in 2:14-17 "what good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

You cannot ignore the call. You have to ACT. You must have action. You must go.

DO something. 

JV