The Means to Help

This past Wednesday, I spoke at one of Collierville UMC's WOW Wednesday night classes. There are a number of awesome AIM volunteers and YSM participants that come out of Collierville, as the church has been coming to Mountain T.O.P. for 18 years! It was a pleasure to look out and see friendly faces among the crowd!

Every time I head out to share about the ministry, I ask God what He wants me to say. In preparing for this particular visit, I was interested to see the difference in statistics for a county like Grundy and the county in which I was speaking.  Here's what I found (based on 2011 Census Bureau data):

	Grundy	Shelby	TN
Population	13,535	935,088	6,403,353
Bachelor’s Degree  or higher	8%	28%	22.7%
Median household income	$26,529	$44,700	$43,314
Median value of owner-occupied housing unites	$80,000	$135,300	$134,100
per capita money income in past 12 months	$14,000	$25,002	$23,722
Persons below  poverty line	31.5%	19.7%	16.5%
How many people?	~4,100	~187,0oo

I know there are many differences among these two communities, but what caught my attention was their similarity. Thousands of people live below the poverty line. Not just in Grundy or the seven other counties we serve, but in Shelby County, TN. In my backyard. In your backyard.

Our theme scripture for this year comes from 1 John 3:16-18. As I looked at these statistics, I couldn't help but recall, "If you see some brother of sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear." 

I believe we all have the means to help others. Financially, physically, socially, spiritually, emotionally, or in whatever way God has gifted you. These statistics prove that our help shouldn't stop at MTOP. They prove that the question we ask volunteers at the end of a weekend or week-long mission trip is imperative. What will you do to help those in need in your own communities? 

Our scripture very bluntly says that God's love will disappear if we do not help others. We simply can't turn a blind eye or a cold shoulder or sit back and let someone else volunteer... at least not those of us who proclaim to love Christ and desire to spread His love.

So, ask yourself. Do I have the means to help? 

If the answer is yes, then practice real love! Wherever and whenever God may be calling you to do so.