A few summers ago I worked as an intern in the Fredericksburg area, working with the youth in an at-risk community. Over the summer I was assigned a book to read as part of my internship. The book was written by a man named John Perkins and decribes effective methods for turning at-risk communities into self-sustaining communties with strong cores. It wasnt until I did this internship that I realized how close these neighborhoods are. I think we all know where the neighborhoods are but we dont give them much thought other than to avoid them. Do we owe any obligation to the people who live in such communities? You might say that it would be a nice thing to do to help them if we could but is there anything compelling us to help? Well if you are a Christian, you are commanded to love your neighbors. Also from the book of James,"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
How much then are we to give to help those in need? Most people are willing to donate money to a cause that they think is noble or "good" but beyond that I don't think people are willing to step outside of their comfort zones to actually go themselves. If you have never gone on a trip to help those in need, either in this country or another I would urge you to go. With the economy the way it is people need help more than ever.
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