you choose Q: "why does God choose some to be rich and some to be poor?"
Q: Why has God decided to make some people so rich and prosperous and others poor and not prosperous? —nkeh
A: The Bible makes it clear that possession of wealth involves responsibility, including a responsibility to be compassionate to the poor. But the Bible doesn’t say that all Christians should sell everything they have and give the proceeds to the poor.…
justice
Stephane Hessel, a 93-year-old philosopher, concentration camp survivor, and former member of the French Resistance, has written a booklet, Be Indignant. Since the publishing of the tract and its 11 printings, he has inspired the nation to fight for social justice. Hessel said to the French: “Don’t be complacent. Don’t simply accept the widening gap between rich and poor, the…
among us
For 2 months in Uganda, I was without a car and had to travel by foot or by using public transportation. I squeezed into crowded matatus (minivan taxis) and weaved through traffic on the backs of boda bodas (motorcycle taxis). Many times, when no ride was available, I walked in the pouring rain.
Moving about in that fashion was humbling,…
spotless
I accidentally dropped my cell phone into the garbage can. It slid straight to the bottom, and when I pulled it out, it was covered with some kind of disgusting mystery goo. Horrified, I set to work spraying, scrubbing, and disinfecting. I didn’t stop until the phone was spotless.
God called the people of Israel to “sanitize” themselves. They’d been…
relinquish control
When I originally met the little Ugandan boy who eventually became my son, my goal was simply to keep him alive. After he overcame malnutrition and recovered from a long list of diseases, however, my dreams for his life quickly became bigger.
For example, the first time my son—as a mere 5-year-old—petted a horse, I immediately visualized him becoming the…
beautiful expressions
Last spring, in Stephenville, TX, a 28-year-old wife and mother, Brandi Todd, experienced a brutal attack that left her paralyzed from the waist down. She had been sitting on a bench, watching her children play at the local municipal park, when a mentally ill stranger approached and stabbed her in the back, nearly severing her spinal cord.
“It knocked my…
defend this
Columnist Kathleen Parker recalls a defining moment from her high-school years. She had just transferred to a new school when her teacher asked her to diagram a sentence. Parker had never learned this aspect of grammar, so she didn’t have a clue how to do it. Her awkward response evoked derisive laughter from the class.
Instantly, the teacher spun away…
missing
I held tightly to my husband as we hurried to catch a taxi. Night had settled, but the city continued to pulsate with a steady flow of cars, motorcycles, and people. Rounding a corner, I saw her sleeping in front of a store. Light from the doorway highlighted her young face, and her thin blanket came up short in covering…
covered in ashes
Today is Ash Wednesday. It’s the first day of the Lent season, observed several weeks before Good Friday. Those who attend Ash Wednesday services typically apply ashes (or will have ashes applied) to their foreheads. The priest or pastor marks the forehead of each worshiper, often saying, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
Ashes in…
bottle of water
When I was riding a jeepney (kind of a jeep bus) from school, someone poked my knee. When I looked back, I realized that it was a boy beggar around twelve years old. He was asking for food, but I had nothing, so I said, "None." People near him began moving away from him because he was bruised, dirty, and…
when tragedy strikes
In January 2010, people from around the world were deployed to provide relief to the citizens and land of Haiti. The tragic effects of a powerful earthquake in that country caused our family to wrestle with unsettling and troubling questions: Why did a mind-staggering tragedy like this happen? If God is strong and powerful and loving, couldn’t He have prevented…
the weak and the afflicted
During a visit to an East Africa hospital, I met a 10-year-old boy, Joseph, who is severely disfigured. A nurse explained that when Joseph was an infant his mother set him on fire. Though he miraculously survived, his left leg was burned to a mere stub. His right is permanently bent backwards, with webbed toes that were heavily damaged by…
our daily bread
Both the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program report that 1.02 billion people (15 percent of the world population) went to bed hungry in 2009. Every day, 18,000 children under the age of 5 die from hunger-related causes—one child every 5 seconds. The urgent cry of these 1.02 billion people is, “Give us today the…
