There's so much hurt on the news at the moment as we see the suffering of people in Burma and China in the wake of devastating natural disasters.
Combine that with our own headlines about credit crunches and inflation and the temptation is there to feather our own nests rather than make a sacrifice to help people we will never meet. One of the youth work sessions I have been commissioned to write this term is on apathy and how seeing people in need and not responding is a sin.
It's in the midst of this that I received a letter from the family of the child I sponsor yesterday, and their closing statement was to boldly state that they love me for the support I give to them. And that's only a few pounds a month which makes a massive difference to a family I may never meet. To hear of their gratitude and love for me when my support equates to a letter a month and a few less treats in the shopping basket is truly humbling.
Whereas we may never know the names of the people in Burma or China who are helped by our generosity, it literally could be the difference between them living and dying. We literally can be heroes to these people even if we are not there among the ruins of their cities.
There's a current billboard poster for Oxfam near my house at the moment that says:
'Get rich quick. Give'.
I can imagine a carpenter from Nazareth sharing the same sentiments.
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