How to change a life with $12

Have you ever seen a life changed by $12? I have.
There is a trend in our world these days where major international corporations are spending more and more of their advertising on “social” issues. This Christmas we saw as a major drink retailer told us that we should buy THEIR product because they are going to spend more money than you or I will see in our lifetimes to help the Polar Bears of the Arctic. The commercials show the mama bear’s struggle to survive among the melting ice cap.
It isn’t made clear exactly HOW sending our money to them will reverse the global warming responsible for those 2 little cubs struggle, But, we get a warm fuzzy feeling, and the big drink company gets to look like heroes. Last year, I would have thought, “oh that is nice”, and proceeded to buy that drink because it is what I usually buy, but feel just a little better knowing I was making a ‘difference’. I mean, who is Laura, and how can my $12.00 make a difference to anyone? So if by buying my usual product, I can contribute to the greater good… heck why not? Right?
That was the old me…this year, the new me has to resist the urge to scream at the movie screen “that is great for the polar bears, but what about all the children starving right this moment”. You see, in November I spent some time in Nepal, and we came face to face with people in dire straits- Poverty unlike anything we would ever encounter here in North America. We walked streets of a city where for the price of a beautiful meal in Canada, a pastor can feed his family for a month. In some senses, it is wonderful to know that just a little contribution from my pocket can make an exponentially larger impact than the same amount here. And yet, no matter how much you give, there will never be enough. You could drop suitcases full of Rupees from the sky, and somehow, this sin-sick world we live in would find a way to still destroy lives. Addiction, pain, poverty, corruption, caste systems and a bad economy always seem to win out.
During our travels, I was able to keep somewhat objective about what we were seeing. In an attempt to not become crippled by it, I held myself at arm’s length, keeping my heart safe from a burden that seemed too big. We discussed the theological response to poverty and pain, we debated different ways to assist, and whether the things that we did do were beneficial long-term or not. In all this though, I was untouched in the deepest places of my heart. Don’t misunderstand, I yearned to do more, to have more to give, mostly though, I wanted to see my brothers and sisters in Christ be able to navigate through what they were seeing. I wasn’t all that concerned about my lack of brokenness, I chalked it up to “its not my gifting”. I see that others have a deep and abiding passion to reach into the lives of the poor, the broken, and the orphaned and bring love, food and prayer to their garbage strewn alleyways.
I thought it wasn’t my gifting……And then Bikash stole my heart. One little boy, looking wistfully into the window of a café stole away all sense that this was someone else’s responsibility. Right there before me was “the least of these”. I wouldn’t have been able to identify that in the moment, I just knew I had to act. I got him something to eat out of that café, and began to talk to him. I learned that he is one of the “lucky” ones. He and his brother work at night picking up trash to sell. They have parents who love them, and a home, and they get to go to school during the day. More than some, there is hope for these little boys. Life is brutally hard, but there is hope. God did a work in me that night, on the streets of Kathmandu. I gave him some money so that he didn’t have to work that night ($5.00), prayed for him, and sent him on his way hopefully to spend a warm safe night at home.
Bikash received about $12.00 worth of food and cash that night, and I walked away a different person.
In the moment, I felt like I had done the right thing, I felt as though God had been glorified, and that was our goal. What I couldn’t know was that something fundamental had changed in me.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I believe that God ‘sees the little sparrow fall’ and cares about its wounds. I know that the plight of the Polar Bear and what we are doing to this creation that He has entrusted us with likely breaks his heart. I am glad that more and more companies are doing responsible things… and yet how much credit do we need to give the company who ‘sacrifices’ less than .02% of their ADVERTISING budget (not even revenues) to help creatures in the north?
I am convinced that given the choice of working on behalf of the Polar Bears, or fighting for the good of humanity, people should get my $12.00…every time!