Last night’s Idol Gives Back, brought to the forefront of American pop culture the responsibility we have, as the wealthiest people on Earth, to extend mercy and justice to those who are suffering and in dire need. I am glad the message is being given so much attention along with subtle plugs for Jesus in lyrics sung during the show, but the whole experience for me was bittersweet. My mind kept drifting to what the majoriy of ethnocentric, America-first Republichristians were thinking the whole time… and it saddened me.
I used to be one of these who thought my goal in life was to promote the American Empire which God has a special love for and by being a good patriot/capitalist/Republican I was being a good Christian. I know very well the thought process these people still have. They say things to eachother like, “Why should we care about the hurting kids in Africa when we have enough poor here in our own country?” and “What they really need is democracy and not clean water,” and “Their pain and grief is no more difficult than my own!”
My answer to these people is that you are not seeing the bigger picture Christ calls us to see in the God Samaritian story. He asks us to defy all boundries, even at risk to ourselves, for the sake of serving Him by serving the least.
I don’t get how God, in his infinite mercy, has shown us mercy at our lowest, most disgusting point, and our response to His call to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him” is to scoff at the needs of the lowest in our world. In light of God giving you what you don’t deserve, you choose to filter out “the least of these” through a lens of national allegiance, skin color, and party preference?
I don’t get it.
I am angry today because the most capable and most called group of people in the world to make a difference (the upper and middle-class Christians in America) are the ONLY ones who not only don’t get it, but they fight AGAINST it.
Your allegiance to your God and your country and your wallet has to be severly mangled within your heart to cause you to feel disgust when you see the world’s wealthiest lining up to help the teenager in South Africa who has to raise his 3 younger brothers becasue both of his parents died of HIV/AIDS. How can there be ANY doubt that that is good?
