Free Agency, Dying World

News flash! Lebron James is a free agent! He might be leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for an even better “offer” (see: more money, more power, more fame)! So what should we do? We should devote HOURS every single day in our media to talking about it. Where will he go? Who will he choose? Who will pay him the most? Is$25 million enough? $30 million? In all likelihood, he’s about to sign the biggest sports contract in history. (Not to mention the $10-15 million a year he will make in endorsements.) Whoopdy. Freaking. Do.

Don’t get me wrong. I love a good rags-to-riches story. Lebron’s mom was 16 when he was born and his dad was a convict. He grew up with nothing, but someone saw something in him, poured into him, believed in him, and put him in a position to succeed that he would have never had otherwise. Oh, my heart loves a good story like that.

What my heart HATES is the fact that 24,000 children die every DAY due to poverty. Of the estimated 2.2 billion children in the world, 1.1 billion live in poverty. Yes, that’s almost half. An estimated 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, with 3 million deaths in 2004. Every year there are 350–500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities: Africa accounts for 90 percent of malarial deaths and African children account for over 80 percent of malaria victims worldwide. You know what it takes to fix malaria? A $5 mosquito net. That net means LIFE to millions of kids.

Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. Some 1.8 million child deaths each year as a result of diarrhea. 1.4 million children die each year from lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. 2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized.

For the 1.9 billion children from the developing world, there are: 640 million without adequate shelter (1 in 3), 400 million with no access to safe water (1 in 5), 270 million with no access to health services (1 in 7).

(All these statistics came from here.)

Why as a country as we completely consumed by power and fame and money? Why do we spend hours a day talking about one man who makes enough money to feed, immunize, and provide clean water for MILLIONS of people in the world? Just ONE man? Why don’t we FIGHT harder? Why don’t we sacrifice more? Why don’t we care enough? Why do we value sports figures more than the kid down the street whose mom sells her body to put food on the table?

Why don’t we put our money where our mouth is? Luke 12:34 says “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We can’t take our stuff with us when we die. BUT we CAN leave an eternal footprint on this world, even by doing just a little. Sponsoring a child’s education and medical needs. Giving to a Bible-based, outreach centered church. Donating to clean water projects. Buying a homeless man a meal. It’s so easy. It costs so little. But it.changes.everything for those who are on the receiving end.

Today I am convicted. Today I want to do more. I want to kick the “American Dream” in the face, because it’s all about self. Why should we “have it all” when others have nothing.at.all. When children are bathing in the same water they use the bathroom in, day after day. When FOUR year olds are living on the streets, digging through trash cans for food, wearing rags for clothes that are in such bad condition we wouldn’t even clean our house with them? When women are being sold into sex slavery every.single.day? I know God wants us to be blessed, and we are blessed so we can bless others. Without those big donors at church who make the major dollahs, the big projects wouldn’t work. The Christmas giveaways wouldn’t happen. I love those guys, trust me.

It’s hard to find a balance when people make money, buy themselves really nice, expensive, unnecessary things, while at the same time doing amazing things for the Kingdom and donating tons of money to amazing causes. But after seeing what I’ve seen, it’s impossible for me to want to live that way anymore.  (I say all this as I type on my nice Apple computer, hooked up to wireless internet, in my 1700 sq. foot house with air conditioner, in my comfy, cushy little life. Trust me, I’m convicted.) I am NOT judging others… I’m really not. I have millions of planks in my own eye, so I won’t be judging that speck in someone else’s. I’m just sharing my heart, my experiences, my dreams… Our dream is to one day be able to give away more than we spend. I want to stand before Jesus the day I leave this world and be able to say, “Look, I cared for others more than myself. I gave everything I had- in heart, mind, soul, spirit, time, talent and money. I wasted nothing you entrusted me with.”

That’s a rather lofty goal, and if I died tomorrow, I couldn’t say that. But I am going to try my hardest to make that my reality. I don’t want to be a free agent. I want to have a life-long contract with this dying, hurting world we live in. I want to make it better. Only by the grace of Jesus…