Matthew 19

Poverty

is so hard to see

when it's only on your TV

or 20 miles across town

Where we're all living so good

that we moved out of Jesus' neighborhood

where he's hungry and not feeling so good

from going through our trash.

He says, More than just your cash and coin

I want your time

I want your voice

I want the things you just can't give me

So what must we do?

Here in the West we want to follow you

We speak the language and we keep all the rules

Even a few we made up

Come on and follow me

Sell your house, sell your SUV

Sell your stocks, sell your security

and give it to the poor.

Well what is this?

Hey what's the deal?

I don't sleep around and I don't steal

I want the things you just can't give me.

Because what you do to the least of these

My brothers you have done it to me

Because I want the things you just can't give me

"Perhaps there is no more dangerous place for a Christian to be than in safety and comfort, detached from the suffering of others."
-Jesus for President

brilliant propaganda

anyway

You can spend your whole life building
Something from nothing
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great but sometimes life aint good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This worlds gone crazy
And it's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway

You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
And in a moment they can choose to walk away
love em anyway

God is great but sometimes life aint good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway

"The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway."

-Mother Teresa's wall in Kolkata

the life you can save

I tend to irrationally think that marketing is of the devil: convincing people to buy things they don't need to impress people they don't like. But an idea has been nagging at me recently that it can be an incredible tool for something besides consumerism. I'll let you read Nicholas Kristof's opinion about improving the world. Part of me is wishing I'd studied marketing in school instead of the waste of time I did study for 4 1/2 years. But who knows maybe I'll find a worthy use of knowing how to fluff pillows someday.

All jesting aside, the gist of the article [in case you don't feel like reading it] is that several countries are disturbingly far behind in meeting humanitarian aid pledges, and he proceeds to explore the reason we are so willing to save people we can see and recognize but remain coldly indifferent to the suffering of people far away. Kristof deplores how poorly aid groups advertise, "Any brand of toothpaste is peddled with far more sophistication than the life-saving work of aid group."

The problem seems to be that the more people die, the less we care. For example, in one study, people donate generously to Rokia, a 7-year-old malnourished African girl. But when Rokia’s plight was explained as part of a larger context of hunger in Africa, people were much less willing to help.

Anyway I could continue to give you a breakdown of the article but I'd rather encourage you to read it yourself.

I stumbled across your picture today

I could barely breathe

the moment stopped me cold and grabbed me like a thief

I dialed your number but you wouldn't be there

I knew the whole time but it's still not fair

I just wanted to hear your voice

I just needed to hear your voice

What do I do with all I need to say

so much I want to tell you every day

though it breaks my heart

I cry these tears in the dark

I write these letters to you but they get lost in the blue

cause there's no address in the stars

This is a test

This is a test to see if I can actually post a blog via email, and also plagiarize my sister.  She sent me this conversation she overheard between one of her friends and an Aussie.  So if this works and you read it please comment so I'll know it worked :)

Chao - I'm looking for a job.
Anonymous lady - Have you applied in a computer shop?
Chao (looking confused) - No, I applied at McDonald's.
lady - But aren't you good at fixing computers and things?
Chao - Um, I can fix my computer when it breaks.
lady - Can't you just tell people what's wrong with their computers and things?Aren't you really tech savvy?
Chao - No, I've never had any training with that.
lady - Well it seems like there are always Asians in computer shops.  You could probably get a job at a computer shop because you're Asian.  Why don't you go apply at one of those?

Now, I'm aware that some things in Asian cultures seem silly and irrational to Westerners.  For instance, in some cultures, when you're born, you're considered 1 year old.  

For anyone who is looking to make friends with someone from an Asian culture, let me just tell you that it is at least 3 times more ridiculous to try and change 2 students' minds on the subject.  They did not invent their culture's methods.  So you can waste your time trying to logically prove that people aren't one year old until they've lived 12 months outside the womb, but really, what are you accomplishing? 

You're succeeding in criticizing something that they can't help.  You're making them feel foolish.  You're probably offending them.  Besides that, let's entertain the notion that it's not as ridiculous as first appearances suggest.  Perhaps they start counting from conception.  Perhaps they use the number as "in the first year of life" rather than "has lived one year."

I'm not an expert on cross-cultural relationships, but I know one or two ways NOT to show care.