This is the picture of the little girl and her toys (see Friday's post). It still rips my heart out.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The Picture
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- Russ Adcox
- I'm the preaching minister of the Maury Hills Church. I'm also a husband, dad, sportsman, and part-time athlete.
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10 comments:
I needed to see this, too, and I agree that all of our children need to see it. I showed it to my 7 year old son and explained the scene to him. I told them these are all the toys she has (sadly, he recognized the two McDonalds toys and could even tell me the movie they came from) and I asked him if she looked happy or sad. He said, "I don't know..... but why is she smoking?" I had to laugh. Thanks again for the picture. I struggle daily with contentment.....
Stephanie
The toys on (or in) the plastic bag are what she picked up at the medical clinic. As well as the sucker. The ones to the left are what she owned beforehand. I've shown the pics to my girls too and tried to get them to comprehend. I'll be posting a few more pictures from her house.
Part of me feels so sad for her only having so few toys, especially when I think of the mountains of toys that Kiley and Robyn have. But then I wonder if she even knows how little she has? Maybe she is the one that should feel sorry for us and our need to have more. I am just not sure how to feel about it. But I do agree the picture rips my heart out too, I can't imagine having been there.
You don't have to go to Belize to see this. Let me take you to some places in Maury county.
Na you don't Rodney, but you do have to get out and go SEE and Serve. You must do something and something is better than nothing
Wes
shump,
You got me thinking about this...when I compare the toys of this little girl with the toys of my little girls I think, "how sad for her." But I wonder if God agrees with my assessment. Maybe the over-abundance is sadder.
I've been to Guyana and Brazil, both have families that live in similar conditions. But I do have questions; the little girl looks happy and proud of what she has. I must be cold hearted but I find the picture cute, not heartbreaking. I guess this is what has always confused me about poverty ministries: what are we trying to do; make them "middle class"? Yes, I like improving the quality of life, clean drinking water (clay and coffee grounds), better ways to cook food with less fuel (rocket stove), protection from disease (DDT and trash removal), but giving a little girl "more stuff" I don't think that works.
Help me out here so I don't feel like a Judas.
I think fighting poverty is what you mentioned...it's about helping people provide for their most basic needs (food, water, clothing, shelter, health-care). It's not about giving her more stuff. Of course, that's easy for me to say because I have all the stuff I need.
One of the things I've wrestled with...during the week someone would say something like "They all seem more happy and contented than we are. They're really better off." Well, if that's true then why don't we sell our possessions and adopt their lifestyle? Because, at some level, we don't really believe that's true. We still believe stuff equals happiness, no matter how much we "say" it doesn't.
I'm still trying to sort all this out in my mind. What do we do with all our wealth, all their poverty, and the Christian concept of justice?
Or we like our stuff.
Sometimes my wife asks that "married question" of "What would you do if I died?" I've told her again and again, "I'm selling it all and becoming a monk."
I think there is a "rich young ruler" in all of us. You can covet 50 cents just as easily as 50 million. There is nothing wrong with being poor and there is nothing wrong with being rich, because in the end you still need Jesus.
I agree their greatest need is Jesus, but I also think that their poverty condition is a problem. With poverty comes a lot of problems, not just hunger and sickness. Education is a big problem among the poor, even here in the U.S. I see a perpetual cycle of families with harmful lifestyles that infects subsequent generations. And we're in the Bible Belt. I would guess that many of them would tell you they believe in Jesus (but it may or may not be true).
The question is "Does this lifestyle happen because they are poor, or are they poor because of their lifestyle?"
Now, in the U.S. there are so many options for these people. It's hard for me to understand why some people don't improve their situations. Overseas, though, I can understand a little more about why things don't change for these people.
I guess I'm trying to say "Give the little girl some toys." As a parent, I know that toys keep those little hands occupied. What would she play with if she didn't have them? It's not like the neighborhood offers a clean environment for her to explore in. I don't see the toys as imposing on her happiness in material things. I see it as meeting the needs of a child beyond the physical. It's an emotional blessing that you are giving her and her parents.
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