Poverty - Matthew Saw

Marianne in Zambia.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)

I was discussing with a fellow youth leader recently about the stagnating faith of our youth, especially second-generation Christian youth. The youth in my church seemed content to serve and join the weekly bible sessions. There is no further dimension to their faith. I was at a loss, and asked him:
 

“Is there anything I can do to help them grow deeper in their faith?”
 

He responded:
 

“Take them to see the poor.”
 

My first thought was how logistically difficult something like that would be. Then I realised what he meant. Church life for the average churchgoer in a middle-class church is very comfortable. The practical application of ‘stepping out of our comfort zone’ for us is to lead our first game at church camp, or to serve on the worship team for the first time. The furthest we go is to invite our friends for the next church event. Sadly, that was how I used to think when I first joined the church. Many years later, I realised that this was wrong. What I heard from the three young people who had done ‘incredible’ things, and their stories of how God had worked in their lives, I became convinced that I would not see God if I did not see suffering.
 

I was deeply touched when I heard Marianne sharing about her encounters with God in her encounters with the underprivileged. When she shared about how she broke down when faced with a situation that she had no words of encouragement for, I thought about myself and my youth. It is so easy to encourage in our society. Just a pat on the back or a 加油, and we assume that we have done our part. Listening to our first-world problems like how hard it is to find a romantic partner, or the social ramifications of taking selfies have rendered us shallow and incapable of real sympathy. How about those really suffering? Can we really deliver the words when the time comes? Are we prepared to give our time and resources to be that encouragement? God calls us to love the poor and needy, and firing off inspirational quotes on social media is not it.
 

God is calling us to step out of our boat into the water with Jesus. God is calling us to step out of our churches into the world of the prostitute, the world of the orphan, the world of the homeless, the world of the underprivileged elderly, and the world of the mission. This is the people who really need the encouragement of a Saviour. Are we willing to step out of our boat? We need not even be the celebrity missionaries that are so exalted in today’s church. There are many suffering in Singapore. Right outside my home is the red light district. The mission is a street away for me, a bus ride away for you.
 

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. 

“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
 

“The first,” they answered. (Matthew 21:28-31)

Marianne had a point in her sharing where she said that at a missions conference, she felt called by God to give two years of her life to missions, but she was too afraid to go up to respond to that call. I too was at that missions conference, but unlike her, I responded to that call. She has gone, I am still here, and God is still waiting for me to fulfil that promise I made to Him then.
 

Oh God, please help me to be the son who is truly obedient. Amen.

Matthew Saw