God cares about the poor. Therefore, we ought to as well. However, our motivations of why we care also matters. Chris Marlow says that some motivations lead to effective service, while others leave us feeling empty inside.
“God cares so much for the poor, but He never uses guilt or condemnation to motivate His people, ever. He calls us to obedience and He calls us to follow Him.”
We’ve all been challenged to tend to the poor and the oppressed, we can’t op in or opt out.
“Part of the Christian narrative and being a disciple is laying down your life and saying I’m going to follow and mimic the ways of Jesus, but ultimately. He doesn’t use guilt of condemnation to do that, He uses love and purpose.”
God uses ordinary people to change the lives of other ordinary people. When God allows us to experience trials, He wants to help us through them and then help us to encourage those who are going through similar trials.
“Ultimately, God brought me back into a world where kids who were experiencing what I experienced. When I came back in a Zimbabwe experience, I met these thirty orphans that John or Orpa were taking care of and these are amazing kids, created in God’s image, they just happened to be born in a place of hardship, and they need to know that they’re not alone in the fight for life.”
It’s an unfortunate reality that many of us are so preoccupied with our own lives, we don’t have a chance to look outwards at the lives of those around us.
“We’re busy and overwhelmed and we feel like life’s a treadmill, we just get up and we go through our day and we’re just trying to get through it. How do I provide ways for them to get involved without making them feel like you they’re not doing enough?”
Chris Marlow is the founder of Help One Now, an organization that mobilizes ordinary people to fight poverty by caring for the world’s most vulnerable children. Help One Now has given away over two million meals, helped provide education to thousands of kids, and rescued numerous kids from trafficking situations by equipping individuals and families to raise money.
Featured Songs: If We’re Honest – Francesca Batestelli; All for the One Who Saved Me – River Valley; Your Presence – River Valley
Doing good is simple
