Outrageous
I am about to make an outrageous claim; one where I will probably have to publish a retraction at the request of my sponsors… oh wait, I don’t have any sponsors. Ah… the freedom to make outrageous claims and spout off about my outrageous opinions without the worries of ticking off a few sponsors.
So, I am about to make an outrageous claim; one where I will probably have to publish a retraction at the request of my publisher… oh wait, I don’t have a publisher. Ah… the freedom to make outrageous claims… well, you get the idea.
Ok, here we go: Reality television never comes remotely close to reality.
For some, this outrageous claim may not be so outrageous or even news. For others, this outrageous claim is so outrageous and unimaginable, I will get an outrageous amount of hate email with outrageous grammatical errors and poor spelling, which is outrageous and usually good for a few outrageous laughs before I send them off to the virtual wasteland of my deleted folder (which is really outrageous).
In today’s society, we fall into one of three outrageous groups: There is one outrageous group for those who believe the people on Survivor are on the island by themselves and struggling to live; there is one outrageous group for those who believe the people on Survivor are actors, there are cameras filming them, a full camera crew operating the cameras, a full production crew giving direction to the camera crew, and catered meals for all the employees (including the actors); and then there is another outrageous group for those so fed up with reality television we didn’t purchase a digital converter box and can’t even watch television anymore.
I’m not sure if there are any inrageous groups. For some reason, I would think if we have some outrageous groups, there should be some inrageous groups… or perhaps even a rageous group or two to provide balance to the outrageous groups, but this wouldn’t be reality.
We sit in our world, perhaps on a comfy couch or recliner in our living room, and view a television show with a title to give us the impression it is reality. If it were reality, the people who fail wouldn’t get “voted off” the show; the other survivors would just eat them. Now that would be outrageous.
I guess my humor is a little off this week, and for my regular readers, I apologize to both of you. In truth, I spent last week ministering in our nation’s capital to the homeless and poverty level families of the inner city. I saw reality up close. I saw people struggling to survive up close. I find it difficult to come back from such a reality and try to write a humorous article.
My trip to Washington DC was with a youth group. The days were long - up at about 5:00am some days and going until about 10:00pm each day. We worked with poverty families and homeless, helped elderly stay in their homes by doing yard and house work around their place, served breakfast and lunch to the homeless, passed out clothing and medical needs, worked in food prep kitchens, and at food distribution centers. We prepared food, delivered food, and served food because people were hungry and had no other way to get fed. In this reality, you do not get voted off the streets, you simply die.
The ceiling in Union Station is adorned with 14 carat gold plating, a place few people or tourist ever cast a glance. There are people hiding in Union Station, starving in the corridors, and dieing just outside the walls. There are several cathedrals with ornate decorations, statues, and gold fixtures. These elaborate structures were built to glorify God, yet His starving children are not allowed on the property because they are too dirty, poor, or bad for tourism.
These buildings helped remind me to allow God to direct my focus. I may someday find it too easy to look at the gold and materialistic values of the world while completely missing the priceless value of God’s children. His focus needs to be my focus.
What does He see?
He showed me. While in DC, I saw extreme poverty, slight poverty, and barely affordable poverty. I saw homeless scarcely dressed. I saw homeless with mobile telephones and laptops, men and women in business suits eating at the soup kitchen because they could not afford food, and small children left to themselves when Mom could not be found (for unknown reasons).
I met a man who worked twenty-two hour days either as a volunteer or for income so he would be so busy or so tired he wouldn’t return to his addictions. I ate dinner with a man who was sixteen months clean and preparing to re-enter the workforce next month. I met a man who couldn’t speak a word of English, yet caused every teen in our group to sob when he prayed.
I saw the youth in the group stretched beyond their comfort zones, challenged beyond their limits, and tested to their abilities. God showed me many things about myself, some good and some worth being voted off a reality show. God humbled me. He taught me to follow Him and be surprised.
How did He surprise us?
He surprised us with innocent children. We conducted a VBS at an inner city park where I think we were the only white people for about 10 blocks. These kids were starved for attention and very affectionate. They climbed onto our shoulders, our laps, and listened to our stories. Their hugs were filled with nothing but pure love and joy in the attention we gave them. They played our games and made the crafts we brought to help teach them about Jesus.
Yet through it all, I think they taught us more about Christ than we taught them, for there is a passage in Matthew 18:2-6 where it says, “He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he (Jesus) said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.’”
These young children helped us realize what it means to approach God with a childlike wonder and desire for affection. What these children lacked in needing our attention is merely a reflection of what we lack in needing God’s attention. These children let nothing hold them back from coming to us; should we be any different in our approach to God? These children came to us with their focus on us; should we be any different with our focus on God? These children played our hokey games and did whatever we requested, for everything we did was for them. Is it any different in our relationship with God?
My mission trip to Washington DC was outrageous. God went with us, so what else should I have expected? The trip was challenging, difficult, and tough, but God was with us and we survived. My vacation last week was not a good time, but it was good.
When being a Christian is tough, are you tough enough?
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Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com
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