Solution

I subscribe to several blogs that relate to social issues within our society, most of which involve homelessness, poverty, the poor, and the ills of alcoholism and drug abuse (also not excluding mental illness). Unfortunately most of these, in many cases, are interconnected. Perhaps the greatest number of comments or posts that follow within the blog rolls include statements like "there has to BE a solution" or questions like "can anything really be done about this?" or "what is the solution?", etc.

It is a great thing to be concerned. It is wonderful to care. It is fantastic to ask questions about what the solution(s) might BE? But we have to get out of looking for and searching for A solution and we must BECOME the solution!

Each and everyone of us has the potential to BE the solution, not just sit back and care about or consider what needs to be done. We become what needs to be done and we just DO IT!

The movie "Blindside" is a perfect example. Any of us can do just that. Many of us have businesses both small and large that can not only hire people that have lost their way in this life, but we can be intentional about seeking these folks out and not just to offer them a job but to experience life with them in a way that both sides are changed forever. We go about our business each and every day having numerous opportunities to make a difference and we pass them by.

How many of us have extra food in the cupboard? How many an extra room in the house? How many of us have some extra furniture that we really do not need? How many the extra couple of hours a week to just sit and develop a relationship with someone who feels like they are a lost cause and that no one will ever truly love them?

It is estimated that there are 3,500,000 people in American that are homeless and that 20% of those have full or part-time jobs but cannot afford housing. It is estimated that the population of the United States is around 309,036,000. Now I am certainly no mathematician and I am reluctant to even include numbers, but for the sake of a comparative example, the difference there is about 305 million people. 3 million homeless (the vast majority due to poverty) and 309 million solutions (or younger, future, potential solutions).

Now, to get even more personal, for those of us that profess to be "born again" Christians....... It is estimated that 42% of the American public attends church WEEKLY. That is 129.7 million people. OK, there are 3 million homeless poor and almost 130 million weekly church-goers in the United States. Is it just me, or is there something TRAGICALLY wrong with that?

Please forgive me if my math is wrong, but this seems to indicate that only around 4% of those attending church weekly need to actually implement what the God of Judeo-Christian values and ethics says about these issues for there to be a tremendous drop in all of the aforementioned so-called "ills" of our society. To me, that is an absolute travesty!

If we, who call ourselves Bible-believing Christians, will do what our Bibles say and teach us, the world would be a radically different place. Millions of people who feel they will never be genuinely loved will truly experience the love of God in their lives. The marginalized of our society will know that they matter, have value and can begin to dream and pursue purpose in life again. People who have given up on themselves because of past sins can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are forgiven and have a Savior.

Please, it is not enough to care. It is not enough to feel their pain. Please, it is not enough to sit in the comfort of middle/upper class society, enjoying a latte on the back deck (both of which I love) without being willing to share that same joy and pleasure with someone who has never known how great that can be.

Please, stop looking for or praying for a solution and BE the solution!