9/11

"God shows no partiality to princes and 
does not favor the rich over the poor, 
for they are all the work of His hands."  
- Job 34:19

I wrote this yesterday, on 9/11, but couldn't get a connection to post it.  With all the Facebook posts about 9/11, I wasn't sure if posting it would offend people, so I hesitated to put it here at all.  In the end, I decided to post it anyway, and hope folks will not take offense.  I'm trying to make this an honest blog about my feelings and experiences of living here -- and this is part of that. 

~ Linda

P.S. This post doesn't necessarily reflect the views of anyone else in the Berg family.    :) 

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So, it is September 11.  I woke up this morning, and my memory of 9.11.01 was the first thing on my mind.  I remembered the shock, the horror, the fear and outrage, the dismay and disbelief I felt when I first heard about the bombings.  Like everyone else, I remember exactly where I was when I first heard the news.  I was in the drive through at Donut Palace.

I know this may sound horrible,  and I apologize if I sound unpatriotic or offensive to anyone.  I love my country so very much, and it did break my heart when she was attacked. 

But, I must admit, I “saw” the tragedy in a slightly different light this year.

Maybe it’s because too much time has elapsed since that horrific day.  Maybe I am not living up to the common exhortation to “never forget”.  Maybe because I was a little bleary eyed after staying up with Sam who had a stomach ache most the night, and I just wasn’t thinking clearly.  Or maybe it’s because my view of life has changed a lot since we moved to Rwanda.  But whatever the reason, 9/11 just didn’t sound as awful to me as it once did. 

This morning, as I lay in my bed, remembering that day, I wondered why I'd felt so broken, so indignant and so horrified when over 3,000 US citizens died in NYC , D.C. and Pennsylvania – but that I don’t hardly flinch when thousands (millions?) of people die around the world every day from politically caused starvation, war, AIDS, brutal attacks of armed “soldiers”, and other travesties. 

Is it because I feel that US citizens are somehow more entitled to safe and comfortable lives than people born elsewhere? 

The 9/11 victims were true victims – they did nothing to provoke their attack, they were defenseless in that burning building and on the airplanes and in the Pentagon.  But, most of the time, the myriad deaths around the world, like the deaths I mourn from 9/11, are also needless and are also often caused by lawless others, who prey upon helpless victims so they can attain more wealth, power, status or a combination thereof.    

Here in Rwanda, early death is just a way of life.  Don’t have enough to eat?  Neither do many others.  Have no way to protect yourself from armed invaders?  Join the club.  Have no way to clothe, shelter or feed your children?  You’ve got lots of company.

Why haven’t I been appalled at the helplessness of my neighbor?  Why haven’t I felt personally offended that justice is not done for so many?  Why don’t I shout and fight for the cause of the oppressed?

Why is it only when my beloved country is attacked that I feel such righteous indignation? 

I have known about hunger, about poverty, about underequipped third world hospitals without enough doctors my entire adult life.  Yet I have done very little about it.  Can I change the world?  No.  That is quite obvious.  I can’t even change life on the one dirt road outside the walled compound of my house.   But why haven’t I cared as much about my neighbor as I do myself?  Why have I taken Jesus’ words so lightly – why do I think His commands to care for orphans, widows, prisoners, for the exploited, for the oppressed, for those who cannot give back, were optional?  Why did I think I needed a nice car or nice jewelry or an iphone or a mocha frappe from Starbucks more than I needed to help those less financially blessed than me? 

And how soon will I forget all I am learning after I return to my home in the States?  My home:  the place where all my children's friends always have enough to eat, the place with the nicely paved roads, great and caring neighbors, the deliciously, fully stocked HEB (two of them!), the lovely Starbucks store, the great schools, my wonderful church, the tasty Taco Casa (according to my kids), the world's best breakfast tacos from Tacos To Go, the delicious Rails Restaurant (according to me), So-Fast Printing and Walgreens?  There is so much wonderful about my home, it doesn't take long before I am lulled to sleep in the comfort of it all, and I forget the needs of those I've met or seen in India, Haiti and now Rwanda. How long until I forget again?  One week, one month, one year?  God forbid!  Please, Lord, do not let me forget again.  Let me not forget the difference between my wants and others’ needs.  Let me care as much about others' pain as I do about the pain of people within the boundaries of my town, my state or my country.  Please let me live the rest of my life in a way that reflects Your absolute love for ALL your children. 

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Bible Verses concerning the poor – verses compiled by World Vision and taken from their website. 

God's Commands Concerning the Poor

Deuteronomy 15:7 “If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.”

Deuteronomy 26:12 “When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.”

Leviticus 19:9-10 “'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.”

Proverbs 31:8 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”

Isaiah 1:16-17 “Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”

Isaiah 58:6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

Jeremiah 22:3 “This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.”

Jeremiah 22:13-17 "Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms.’ So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red. Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?’ declares the LORD. But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion."

Matthew 5:42 “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

Luke 3:11 “John answered, ‘the man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.’"

Luke 12:33 "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys."

2 Corinthians 9:6-9 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: ‘He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’"

1 Timothy 6:18 “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”

James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Blessings on Those Who Serve the Poor

Deuteronomy 15:10 “Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.”

Psalm 41:1 “Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.”

Proverbs 19:17 “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.”

Proverbs 22:9 “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.”

Isaiah 58:10 "And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday."

Jeremiah 7:5-7 "If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever."

Matthew 19:20 “‘All these I have kept,’ the young man said. ‘What do I still lack?’ Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’"

Luke 14:12-14 "Then Jesus said to his host, ‘When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’"

Luke 12:33-34 "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Why One Should Not Neglect Serving the Poor

Exodus 22:21-27 “Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt. Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest. If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.”

Proverbs 14:31 “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”

Isaiah 10:1-3 " Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?”

Jeremiah 5:28 “‘Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor. ‘Should I not punish them for this?’ declares the LORD. ‘Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?’”

Ezekiel 16:49 "Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.”

Ezekiel 22:29, 31 "The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD."

Amos 5:12 “For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts.”

Luke 6:24 " But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort."

Luke 16:19-25 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.'"

1 John 3:17 “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”

James 5:1-6 “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.”

Biblical Attitudes for Believers Toward the Poor

Leviticus 19:15 "Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly."

Proverbs 29:7 “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.”

Matthew 6:2-4 " So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

Luke 6:33-34 "And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full.”

Acts 2:44 “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.”

Acts 4:32-35 “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”

Galatians 2:9-10 “James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.”

Ephesians 4:28 “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.”

1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

James 2:5 “Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”

God's Identification With the Poor

Proverbs 14:31 “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”

Proverbs 19:17 “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.”

2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”