Debi amazes me.

So, I have been thinking a lot about a conversation that my friend Debi and I had the other day while we were sitting in the church office during service. We were talking about my recent return to vegetarian/veganism and she brought up an excellent point that I think so many people tend to forget. Debi said that she thinks it’s great that people have a passion about animals or the environment but what makes her mad is when they don’t have a passion for people.

And you know what…she has a valid point.

I think for me personally, since one of my passions is people I don’t realize that for so many others it’s an afterthought or even a non thought. I know several people who are passionate about how we treat pigs, cows, chickens and fish but don’t think twice about the millions of people in this world suffering with AIDS. Or the people who compost every possible piece of trash they can and recycle everything that can possibly be recycled but never think twice about the person that is trafficked across a border and sold into slavery each minute of each day.

Don’t get me wrong. I definitely do NOT believe in cruelty to animals or in ruining the planet that God so graciously placed us on, (although we have already pretty much done that.) Let’s be honest, I have made a lifestyle choice because I don’t agree with the treatment of animals and their situations. It’s just been on my heart how accurate Debi’s statement is. People just don’t seem to care about people.

I am starting a small group next Wednesday and it’s gonna be rough! I thought long and hard about the book that I wanted to go through for the group. I knew that since we would be starting the small group when our twentysomethings group is going through a series on human trafficking that I wanted to choose a book that addresses some of the global issues and social injustices. I chose a book by Tom Davis called Red Letters: Living a Faith that Bleeds. His book focuses on the words in the bible that are in red, Jesus’s words. “In many bibles, Christ’s words are set apart in red letters. This distinction reminds us that when God becomes Man and speaks, it’s probably something we cannot afford to miss. So why doesn’t the church take these “red letters” to heart? Why aren’t we being the hands and feet to the poor, the disenfranchised, the weary, the ill, the fatherless, the prisoners? Why has the church shirked its responsibilities, leaving the work to be done by governments, rock stars and celebrities?”

I am so excited for this book, and this study. In the beginning of his book Tom Davis acknowledges the millions of people who are infected with AIDS who deserve to know they are loved and respected. That is just awesome to me. It’s going to be a tough book, but it’s going to be amazing to watch the change it makes in us. We are here to be Christ’s hands and feet to the world. THE WORLD.The world is a huge place but there is so much we can do to help.

I love that God gave me a passion for people and that he put people like Debi here who realize that we are here to serve one another no matter how near or far. I know that here in America it is hard to remember those suffering so far away and there are issues that we never even think about because we live in a place where they just don’t happen; but I challenge you to be convicted by Debi’s statement and to get angry. Be uncomfortable. Learn what happens to the majoritiy of the people in this world and be affected by it. Be outraged, be beside yourself and do something about it. Make the world a better place. Remember, if everyone made just a drop in a bucket eventually the bucket would be full. Your drop can make a huge difference.

Thank you Debi.