I was looking on Facebook the other day and I saw pictures of some old friends so I decided to take a look and see how they were doing and how much their kids have all grown.
What I saw when looking at those photos made me wonder if the "church" has become desensitized.
The pictures were of a bunch of boys who had an end of summer get together. These boys were all around pre-teen/teen ages. Some of the pictures were of them swimming, others were of them eating at a restaurant after a late night movie, but those were not the ones that made me question sensitivity.
The pictures that made me question sensitivity were of the boys all gathered at a house. This house was bought by a local church, and is right next to where the church is located. The church is located in one of the lower income areas of the city. This house that they were gathered at is scheduled to be demolished so they decided to let the boys have fun destroying it. Seems like no big deal, right?
As part of their destruction, the father who was chaperoning (who I should mention is a minister at that local church) went and bought several cases of produce and eggs. The boys proceeded to throw all the produce and eggs at spray painted targets on the building. Sounds harmless, right?
The church that owns this house is located right across the street from government housing. This house that they were destroying is located not only in a lower income area, but it is also just a few hundred yards from a building that is used as a care center for the area. This care center hands out food to needy people in the community. It also hands out clothing, shoes and provides a place for people to learn about Jesus.
Now imagine being one of those people coming to pick up food for your family, as a means of survival, and seeing just a few hundred feet away a house that has tomatoes, lettuce, eggs and other food items thrown all over and wasted. How do you think they will feel?
I know boys like to be boys and destroy things. That is perfectly fine. Go destroy things. But, wouldn't it have been better to show those boys how to use that food to show the love of Jesus instead of wasting it? What kind of example is being shown?
We, as a church, need to remember that there are people out there who don't know where they are going to get their next meal. We, as a church, need to take a closer look at our surroundings. We, as a church, need to be better examples to our children. We, as a church, need to become more sensitive to others needs and not always think of ourselves. We, as a church, need to do a better job showing the love of Jesus.
What I saw when looking at those photos made me wonder if the "church" has become desensitized.
The pictures were of a bunch of boys who had an end of summer get together. These boys were all around pre-teen/teen ages. Some of the pictures were of them swimming, others were of them eating at a restaurant after a late night movie, but those were not the ones that made me question sensitivity.
The pictures that made me question sensitivity were of the boys all gathered at a house. This house was bought by a local church, and is right next to where the church is located. The church is located in one of the lower income areas of the city. This house that they were gathered at is scheduled to be demolished so they decided to let the boys have fun destroying it. Seems like no big deal, right?
As part of their destruction, the father who was chaperoning (who I should mention is a minister at that local church) went and bought several cases of produce and eggs. The boys proceeded to throw all the produce and eggs at spray painted targets on the building. Sounds harmless, right?
The church that owns this house is located right across the street from government housing. This house that they were destroying is located not only in a lower income area, but it is also just a few hundred yards from a building that is used as a care center for the area. This care center hands out food to needy people in the community. It also hands out clothing, shoes and provides a place for people to learn about Jesus.
Now imagine being one of those people coming to pick up food for your family, as a means of survival, and seeing just a few hundred feet away a house that has tomatoes, lettuce, eggs and other food items thrown all over and wasted. How do you think they will feel?
I know boys like to be boys and destroy things. That is perfectly fine. Go destroy things. But, wouldn't it have been better to show those boys how to use that food to show the love of Jesus instead of wasting it? What kind of example is being shown?
We, as a church, need to remember that there are people out there who don't know where they are going to get their next meal. We, as a church, need to take a closer look at our surroundings. We, as a church, need to be better examples to our children. We, as a church, need to become more sensitive to others needs and not always think of ourselves. We, as a church, need to do a better job showing the love of Jesus.
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