One of the basic tenets of Christianity is the humility of Christ. Christ, as the second person of the Godhead, gave up all the glory of God to become a man to dwell here amongst us for 33 years in order to die upon the cross for our sins. Such willing suffering and humility is staggering to think about it.
With the disaster that is now New Orleans, I feel that most Christians should stop and consider their own humility and willingness to suffer. Scripture repeatedly tells us to share in the sufferings of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. But we live in an incredibly materialistic and thereapeutic culture where we avoid suffering like the plague because, well… it hurts. Yet we are called to share in the sufferings of believers. How much are we doing that? I am writing this from my desk at work, using an expensive computer, with another computer next to me. Here in my office is a new bicycle I just bought for a not insignificant chunk of change. I’ve got silly knick-knacks like the Sauron action figure, the Lego Knights figure, the kazoo I got from a Christmas cracker last year. A pile of books that I probably won’t get around to reading for a year or so. My water bottle.
And there are people in New Orleans who now own less personal property than the ’stuff’ I’ve got around my office.
I encourage everyone reading this to reflect Christ by humbly giving up of their belongings and donating to one of the many groups that are collecting donations for those who have lost everything due to Katrina. By God’s grace, most of us live in the lap of luxury. Now many have (literally) just the clothes on their backs.
I don’t mind who you donate to, just make sure it’s an organization that will use your money wisely so as much of your dollar or gift will go to the needy and not to the back office as possible. If you don’t know where to donate, I’d like to make one suggestion. Alpha Omega Ministries has set up a fund to help the members of Sovereign Grace Fellowship of New Orleans. One of the pastors of SGF is a friend I’ve known for a few years online named Eddie Exposito. Eddie and his family are amongst those who have lost nearly everything. By God’s good providence, the Expositos have found temporary housing in Mississippi, but they’ve most likely lost all they own. The other members of their small fellowship are in much the same boat. If you feel so moved, please donate to the fund. If you’d rather donate elsewhere, by all means, do so without guilt but with the love of Christ toward those who are needy. (Note: if you donate via the link above, nearly all your money will go directly to Sovereign Grace Fellowship. Only the administrative fee that Paypal charges of 30 cents plus 2.9% of the transaction amount will not make it. In other words, Alpha Omega Ministries is coordinating this entirely at their cost. Also, that ‘overhead’ is ridiculously low compared to other reputable ministries.)