Let Your Light Shine...

The message at church today was based around Matthew 5:13-16 (Salt and Light). These are words of Jesus which I have tried to live by:

You are the light of the world, like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all…Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

And yet, in the next chapter, Jesus says:

Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, because then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give a gift to someone in need, don’t shout about it as the hypocrites do, blowing trumpets in the synagogue and streets to call attention to their acts of charity!...give your gifts in secret and your Father…will reward you.

I have struggled with the conflict, contrast and balance between these two ideas. The second part is quite convicting. Social media has provided the modern day equivalent of the “hypocrites trumpet” – whatever we’re doing, whatever cause we’re pushing, pop it up on the internet and hundreds, potentially thousands of people will see it.

I have been accused by people close to me of being prideful and self-promoting in my advocacy with Compassion International. It appeared to them that I was making it all about me, because I regularly mentioned how many kids I sponsored (many). The “give your gifts in secret” verse from Matthew 6 was thrown at me.

It’s fair to say I have been quite public in my advocacy with Compassion International and more recently The Ruel Foundation. In 2012 the local newspaper in Portland, Victoria published an article about my Brazil trip and Compassion journey. In September 2013, a friend released a mini-documentary of my Compassion journey, and at the same time I had a double page article in the Compassion magazine (neither of which was instigated by me). I have written about my Compassion trips to 12 countries on my blog, which has now had 12,000 hits in 18 months.

This “double barrel” of publicity earned me a few days of wonderful encouragement and nice comments across social media. Apparently the doco was watched in all the Compassion Australia offices. People were inspired, encouraged and challenged, and I was thankful that God was using me to impact people’s lives. However, according to some I was “letting my light shine”, but it was shining on me, rather than God.

The problem I had with this was: how did they possibly know this? Did they interview or search the hearts of every single person who read the article or watched the doco? The unfortunate reality is that no matter how much you “let your light shine”, there are some people who won’t “praise your Father in heaven.” They’ll look at you and say what a wonderful person you are and what great work you’re doing, but won’t acknowledge that you are doing it to glorify God. Does that mean that others can point the finger and mistakenly come to the conclusion that “Your light is shining on yourself and not God”?

My advocacy for the Ruel orphanage in the Philippines through a Facebook page and blog has resulted in 200 extra “likes”, and exposed hundreds of people from Australia to the amazing work they do helping children, whereas previously they were better known in New Zealand and the US.

My wrestling with the two ideas “Let your light shine” and “Give your gifts in secret” is by no means over, but for now I have come to this conclusion:

The difference between the two ideas is: It’s about what is in your heart - your attitude and motivation. Are you doing it for God’s glory, or to earn the praise of people? To me, it is important that other people know about organisations such as Compassion and Ruel, and I’m going to shout it from the rooftops so that everyone knows what great, God-honouring work they do. It’s not for a moment about me. I’m not that foolish and arrogant.

In my advocacy, my intention as always been:
* For God to be glorified
* For more kids to be sponsored
* For more lives to be transformed
* For people to see God in me, when they look at a life filled with sacrificial generosity.
* For people to have the opportunity to help, and give to organisations that are quality, trustworthy and filled with integrity, as I know both Compassion and Ruel are.

In November 2013, I let people know that I would be working at The Ruel Foundation in the Philippines, and needed to find sponsors for my 29 Compassion kids. Within a month, all the kids were sponsored by family and friends. You know why? Because I had taken photos, videos and told their stories. People could connect with them in a more meaningful way and knew more about Compassion because I was sharing through the lens of my personal experience. If I had stayed silent and just stuck the pic on my Facebook page and said “Who wants to sponsor him?” there’s no way it would have happened.

As far as I’m aware, no one can see the heart but God, therefore we should think carefully before judging the heart and the motivation of others. I am comfortable I can appear before God and my motives and attitude in the public nature of my advocacy will be revealed to be clean and pure – that I was doing it for His glory.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.
Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. (Proverbs 31:8, 9)

The Matrix and the Fight Against Poverty

I caught the tail-end of the movie The Matrix: Revolutions the other night. I'll be honest and say that my understanding of the Matrix movies is somewhat elementary, with the plot of most Sci-Fi movies going over my head.

However, there was one part in particular that caught my attention. The hero Neo (Keanu Reeves) had just had a major crazy battle with his arch-nemesis Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), and after getting up again for the umpteenth time, Agent Smith explodes with exasperation and offers this little spiel:

"Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Yes? No? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. The temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?"

While Neo's battle was saving his city from a bunch of malevolent machines, many of us are engaged in a battle as well - the fight against poverty in our world. Agent Smith's biting words echo the exact thing the enemy sneers into the hearts and minds of those of us engaged in the battle. The thing is, they're all lies, but in the heat of the battle they can seem true.

The enemy of our souls spits on the very ideals that we desire, hold dear and even fight for, like freedom, truth, peace and love. Despite the fact that we are created in God's image and are of infinite value to Him, the enemy uses poverty to devalue humanity and convinces people that their lives are indeed without meaning or purpose. In this world our faith in almighty God, which is the only answer, is so often dismissed as an "illusion", a "temporary construct" and "artificial."

The enemy is the father of lies, but these very lies have robbed millions of their God-given destiny, when they haven't been able to see past their circumstances and have given in to the above words: "You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting." Other fatal arrows include "You're hopeless. You're worthless. Things will never change. You will never get better. No one cares. There's no one to help."

Many people look at the plight of the poor and the condition of our world and use it as an excuse to bash God. They say "Where's God? How can He allow this? Why doesn't He do something?" To be honest, I often struggle with those first two questions, but here's the answer to the third one: He has created YOU to do something. The majority of people in the developed world have been given much more than they need to survive, and it is our God-given job to care for those who don't have what they need.

WE have the answers to the lies of the enemy, and by sharing the love of God with people we can show them the truth:
- You CAN win.
- KEEP on fighting.
- With God there is HOPE.
- You have infinite WORTH as a child of God.
- Things CAN change.
- You CAN get better
- People DO care
- There ARE people to help. 

Interestingly, Neo's typically heroic and selfless response to Agent Smith's rant was "Because I choose to." All we need to gain the upper hand in the fight against poverty is for more people to follow Neo, ignore the enemy's bluster and bravado and say "I choose to help."

I choose to disregard a life of comfort, ease and living only for myself.
I choose to make my life about my needs, not my wants.
I choose to give generously and sacrificially, and trust God to provide for me and my family.
Then we would win the battle.

I have walked in the midst of poverty in twelve countries in my travels with Compassion, and I am now surrounded by it in the Philippines. I chose to immerse myself in the stories, homes and circumstances of my sponsored kids and it wrecked my heart in so many ways. Yet I was still like a spectator looking in from the outside. We will never fully understand the complexities and there are no easy answers.

However I believe with all my heart that Compassion International is one of God's answers to fighting against poverty. I have already blogged extensively about my experiences so I won't repeat myself here, but this I know for sure - there are poor communities in 26 countries around the world that have HOPE, because Compassion works there. Children are given a one-to-one relationship with a sponsor who loves them, they receive food, education, medical care, income-generating skills and most of all the hope and freedom that comes from a relationship with Jesus.

Unfortunately Compassion is not a magical quick fix, an instant answer. It is a long-term strategy; it's grind and a struggle, all about building relationships with economically and spiritually poor people. It is about loving when you may not be loved in return. It is high-risk and high-reward.

In my experiences with Compassion I have witnessed Love, Joy, Faith, Hope, Sacrifice, Generosity, Hospitality, Safety, Music, Dancing, Playing, Kids Free To Be Kids.
All because somebody vanquished the enemy with a simple declaration: "Because I choose to."

Learning Lessons About Grace

I've always struggled with the concept of God's all-encompassing mercy and grace. This struggle mainly rears its head when I look at others.

My basic understanding of grace is that it is undeserved, unearned and unmerited favour. Humans are capable of showing grace to others, but of course God demonstrates the greatest example of this. Every day, millions of the people He has created and loves basically give him the "middle finger salute" with every breath they take and the way they live their lives. Yet He lets them live, and often allows them to prosper. That's grace.

The internet can be an ugly beast. It brings out the worst in people. Occasionally I'll have a look at an atheist website or page on Facebook. There is so much arrogance, foolishness and profanity in people's hearts, and it all comes out on the internet. It's like a sewer. The Bible says "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks [and fingers type]" (my paraphrase).

I was going to put an example of something I read here, but it makes me sick even thinking about it. The person pretty much called God a certain type of deviant in reference to the virgin birth. It was vulgar and breathtaking in its arrogance. And that's not even the worst that's out there. Personally I struggle to come up with a reason why those people shouldn't be smote on the spot. Yet God lets them live.

In my struggle I need to keep remembering this from the Good Word: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and then "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus."

I consider myself to be a person who is doing my best to live a life that God is pleased with by serving others. I care deeply for the poor and have sacrificed much to help other people. I have left everything behind and am now working in an orphanage. So I'll be honest and say I sometimes wonder "How can God think of me the same way as the arrogant, profane, violent fools that seem to be growing in number every day?" On the surface this doesn't seem 'fair' or 'just'.

Then I remember the above verse from Romans 3:23 - ALL have sinned. That includes me. I am still deserving of death because I haven't measured up to God's perfection. Just like those others. I am also in desperate need of God's grace. I can do, or have done nothing to earn it or deserve it. It's a free gift.

Onto the recent lesson I learned about grace.

I am a teacher. I have little time or patience for rascals. My expectation is that you follow my instructions or there are consequences. I have not had to teach many "special needs" kids, but when I have, there has naturally been disobedience, defiance and disrespect, which has led to confrontations, which has led to frustration, annoyance and anger on both sides.

Patience is something I always pray for, but I have failed to display it far more times than I care to remember. As a teacher I have not handled things as well as I would have liked on occasions.

On Saturday I was at PH268 Compassion Project in the Philippines. I have started helping there since I moved there 6 weeks ago to work at an orphanage called The Ruel Foundation.

The kids were in their classes, so I was on the playground, throwing a ball with the little son of one of the volunteer mums. One of the Compassion kids came out and sat on the playground. I could tell he was in trouble. I asked "what did you do?" and got no reply, along with averted eye contact.

I have developed a personal 'policy' of not acknowledging or giving attention to kids when they are being disciplined, so I kept throwing the ball with the little guy, while this kid just sat there.

All of a sudden I felt massively convicted. Compassion kids are from families that are often dysfunctional and violent, the poorest of the poor in their communities. I have made my goal in life to be like Jesus, to show every person the love of God in the way I treat them. Was I being Jesus to this young fella?

God reminded me of grace. There have been far too many times I have been grace-less to others. He has shown it to me, and I need to show it to this boy now. So we had a play, and the smile returned to his face.

Please understand, grace does not mean there are no consequences to our actions, and we can just get away with anything and do what we want. However, sometimes we just need to give people another go, remembering the grace and mercy God shows us every day of our lives.

I, for one, am thankful for grace.

My Compassion Journey Continues in the Philippines (no surprises there!!)

In June 2013 I made a life-altering decision. I decided to volunteer at an orphanage in the Philippines, called The Ruel Foundation.

This decision had many consequences and "what ifs" and "what the hecks?" One of these was what would happen to the many children I sponsored with Compassion International. I wasn't worried, because I knew God had it under control.

In mid-November I made my decision "Facebook official" and invited people to help me by sponsoring my kids. Over the next two months I witnessed miracle after miracle, as 27 of my 29 kids were sponsored by my amazing family and friends.

I was really sad at the prospect of my seven-year association with Compassion ending. I've been a sponsor, advocate, traveller and general maniac. Before I left for the Philippines, as a bit of a longshot I guess, I did some research and found out that there were two Compassion Projects in the city I would be working.

I knew that Saturday in the Philippines was Compassion Project activity day, so on my third day in the country, armed only with the name of the neighbourhood and some rough directions I set out to find this mystery Compassion Project and partner church.

I traipsed around Barangay Lalud for an hour in the rain, looking for anything that looked remotely church-y or had some kid activity. No success. I was just about to go back to Ruel when I had a brainwave: why not try the other side of the main road? ( I was convinced my directions were the right hand side).

The second street I tried, I stumbled across a church and I could see kids wearing yellow shirts. I looked for a Compassion sign but couldn't see one, so I decided to try my luck. I entered the church grounds and the kids in the nearest class turned around and saw me coming. Their teacher came out to meet me and I asked if they were a Compassion Project. He answered yes and I was ecstatic: I WAS HOME!!

The Project is PH268 and currently has 118 children registered. I met the Project Director (who is also the Pastor's daughter) and she took me on a tour. I sat in on some classes, helped serve the lunches and introduced them to Australian football.

I have joined the church and have now been back to the Project six weeks in a row. While I can't do much due to the language barrier, for now I am happy being the bringer of songs, balls, and UNO cards, and help serve the lunches. We have discussed me possibly teaching English or maybe running a guitar class. I am excited about the future possibilities and am so thankful to God that he plonked me right near a Compassion Project and I can stay connected with Compassion despite having moved on to other work. I think of it as amazing, but not necessarily surprising.

I have to say that after spending the past few Saturdays helping at the Compassion Project, my perspective has been forever altered. In the past, on all my visits, I have breezed in, been the centre of attention for a couple of hours, had fun with the kids and nicked off. I have now spent a few hours sitting in on classes and have been frustrated at some of the behaviour I've seen with the kids. Pinching, poking, incessant talking, plain disrespect. I have been reminded: these kids are from economically poor, often dysfunctional homes, they are often not well-adjusted. They need extra servings of patience, grace and love. This is why my admiration and respect for the Project workers, teachers and volunteers has gone up even more: they give up their time and their lives to form relationships and show these kids some love and give them a fun safe place to be, all in the name of Jesus. Compassion is not a quick-fix instant solution to the mess of poverty. It's a hard slog, and a grind. It's a long-term strategy that involves building relationships and loving people when you may not get loved in return. It's high-risk, but high-reward. I'm honoured to be a part of it.

Here are some pictures - Australian football, soccer, UNO and checking each others teeth.