Nicer Rich People

There's this odd fellow who invented the 5-Hr Energy drink thing.  He hit a home run in the marketplace, and he's worth billions, personally.  He has pledged 99% of his wealth to helping others.

The guy is Manoj Bhargava; he says, "If you have wealth, it's a duty to help those who don't."

Why would he say that?  Is he right?

NATGEO 2011

Instead of simply giving money, Bhargava believes that personal involvement is necessary.  He's probably right on that one.

And who are the wealthy? Perhaps an important question for each of us.

If your household income tops $10/day/person, you're better off than about 70% of humanity.   

If you have a house and a car or two, a positive net worth and some money in the bank, you're perhaps in the top 10% or so.

If you haven't seen the real world in person, it's perhaps something worth pursuing; personal involvement, and all that.

Here's the whole story Billions in Change

Relevant Words

Ever cringe at religious words?    We were visiting somewhere, and this church fellow wanting perhaps to instruct us more perfectly in the way said, "let me minister to you...."  Cringe!

Today, 'ministry' and 'minister' are usually religious things.  In English language bibles, the Greek words (diakonia, diakonos, etc) are sometimes translated as 'minister' and 'ministry'.  Those Greek words appear all through the New Testament, but they are not limited to the pulpit; the words are used to describe a variety of activities.  In each occurrence, the context is one of serving others, and there's a beautiful undertone of having a good heart about it.

While the original word use does include working in the church, it more broadly describes serving the needs of others by pretty much everyone.  And everyone serves (they minister, to use the old word).  Feeding the hungry, taking up collections for the poor, the labors of leadership and of teaching, of helping and hospitality, and caring practically for others near and far.  In such use, 'minister' is not a position, it's a sacrifice.

The words 'minister' and 'ministry' may not have real clarity in young folks' minds.  Such words are perhaps more of a separator, a boundary drawn between inside and outside.  Would our words be clearer if instead we talked about 'lending a hand', 'coming alongside for the duration', 'I got your back', or 'can I help'?

(Offering religious words to an inquirer is like offering beef to a vegan.  I suspect that little could be less appealing than sounding like today's media-portrayed religionists.  When we speak, we need to understand how it will be heard.)

Today, ministry is for ministers, at least the way the word is used.  Perhaps the word has evolved in common vernacular to the near-opposite of its earlier use.  True?  Do your own study, if you like, and consider what it might mean.  :)  It looks to me like everyone is supposed to be involved.

(For the record, my Kenyan friend says they have the same problem in Swahili.)

Ephesians 4:12 to equip his people for works of (ministry) service 

The Walkout

This is Nick Cannon.  His mother got off the abortion table and walked out, sparing his life.

Cannon told his story in a music video entitled, “Can I Live?” which has been credited with saving the lives of many unborn children.

___________________________

Then there's Christina Marie Bennett.  She almost died as an unborn child. Her mother paid for an abortion but walked out of the doctor's office after a janitor told her God would give her the strength to have her baby.

       It was over a decade ago that I stood in the bathroom while my mom struggled to find the words to speak. “You’ll hate me,” she said. “I can’t tell you, because you’ll hate me.”
      “I would never hate you,” I replied. The look in her eyes revealed she wasn’t convinced. I was in my early 20’s, home for a visit from college and looking for answers. I certainly wasn’t pro-life at the time.
       Only months before, a prophetic minister gave me a word that something special happened when I was born. When I asked my mom about it, she said: “I met an angel.”

From Christina's website bio ... Outside pressures and inner anxieties lead her (Christina's mom) to schedule an abortion. She met with a hospital counselor who assured her she was making the right choice. As she sat for a moment in the hallway, an African-American janitor saw her crying and approached her. ‘Do you want to have this baby,' she asked?  When my mother said yes, the janitor replied, 'then God will give you the strength.' After the janitor's encouragement, the doctor called my mother into his office. She told him she changed her mind and wanted to leave. To her dismay, the doctor demanded she stay, insisting it was too late and telling her she had to go through with the abortion. With strength from above, my mom walked out. ... Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Our lives begin to die the day we become silent about things that matter’.  I'm alive today because a stranger refused to be silent.

          ____________________

Then there's Kimberly Henderson.  Apparently she's famous; her video (right, called 'Tiny Hearts') had millions of views in the first week.  She spent seven hours in an abortion clinic, but walked out deciding not to sign the final consent form.  It's a moderately miraculous story, and that's her baby girl there in her arms, the result of her decision.  

How should we process such information?

For some further thoughts, see Life, Abortion, and Conscience

Discovery!

It's called the Discovery Doctrine, and it has a 500 year legal history.

When Christopher Columbus first set foot on the white sands of Guanahani island he performed
 a ceremony to "take possession" of the land for the king and queen of Spain, acting under the
international laws of Western Christendom. Although the story of Columbus' "discovery" has
taken on mythological proportions in most of the Western world, few people are aware that
 his act of "possession" was based on a religious doctrine now known in history as
 the Doctrine of Discovery.

Under the doctrine, a government could claim title to lands it's subjects travelled to and
occupied and whose indigenous inhabitants were not subjects of a European Christian
monarch. The doctrine's legal use has been for invalidating aboriginal claims to their
homeland in favor of colonial governments.

Many historical periods are inaccurately portrayed; the winners write the history books. Dealing objectively and in human terms with conquest, displacement of populations, and genocide hasn't yet become the norm.

Power and hubris have shaped every country in the world. The conquering heroes may have thought well of their own actions, but there was perhaps more to the story in every case. 

The first European explorers knew nothing of the civilizations and cultures of Africa or the Americas, some of which preceded their own by more than a thousand years. Colonization and conquest decimated the populations, divided up the land and resources, and imposed subservience on the survivors.

Recent history includes similar conquest and the death of millions at the hands of those who would advance themselves at the expense of another. WWI and II were attempts at conquest and acquisition of land and resources. Today, Wall Street is headquarters for the ongoing economic war now waged in the marketplace for the same goals. Perhaps we're finally catching on, they're not heroes.

How might we honestly process and respond to such information?

You might appreciate Whose History?

The Beauty of Life

Kids cracking up while trying to pose for a picture.  It
was their idea.  In the background, my friend and his
nephew rest in the shade on a warm afternoon.

"The beauty of life depends not only on how happy u r, but how happy others have been bcoz of u!  Hope u had a flowery day.  Bye!"

The text message from a good friend in eastern Africa pretty much made my day.  He and his family made a place for me when I was there years ago, and they'd visited me when I was laid up with broken ribs; they prayed for me and wept as I struggled with the pain. They brought me a gift of special cashews for my final going away, and they never asked for anything.

The family is doing pretty well.  They've built another simple house after having been evicted by government from lands they had lived on for generations.  They all live together - mom, brother, sister, grandma, little fellow, plus nieces and nephews.  Together, they do a small charcoal business in the village.  With a little help, the kids are in school, health issues are addressed, one nephew has finished trade school and internship, ... things are going okay.  We swap texts and stories every few weeks, and sometimes pictures.

In his text message, he was again thanking me for helping out with some simple things.  Our relationship goes both ways.  He and his family have given us so much over the years.  They've taught us about things like faith and working together, loving practically.  And perseverance.  They work all week and their Sunday church service if full of praise and thanksgiving and prayer for each other and for us.  I hope they know what a help they are.

If you'd like to join in, we can provide introductions.  :)

Recentism

Our congressional representatives attempt to block Syrian
refugees (about 10,000 planned) in the queue for
the U.S. as France agrees to accept 30,000.

recentism ‎

• A focus on recent events to the exclusion of history. 

We can be overburdened by present concerns.  Lacking a longer-term perspective, both discussion and decisions may move ahead without consideration of the timeless truths and values available.

The painful turmoil over refugees entering America is perhaps an excellent example.  With political candidates in the queue for national office, the subject opened spillways of excess thought that were released downstream.  Actual facts and objectivity took a while to emerge.  Deeper understanding didn't arrive for weeks, long after the players had flooded the channels with solutions for problems that didn't exist.

Ignored in the flail are the values we claim as a nation.  We will defend the helpless, we will lend a hand to those struggling to survive, we will stand against injustice.  With only a few hiccups along the way, we have long been a haven for refugees.  

Lost in the storm of words and fear ... our backbone?   ... what else is lost?

Update: 2 MAR 16

Shall we build a wall and deport all the foreigners?  If ever there were a time for clarity and values and courage ..., well, this is another one.  


2 MAR 16:  I'm reminded of a playground incident; some bee's nest had been disturbed, and the swarm was chasing us kids.  A couple got stung as we ran to the school entrance.  They wouldn't let us in.  They didn't want us to disturb the teacher's meeting because it was really important.  

We all remember them fondly, of course.