Haiti Day 4
When I come home from a trip to a developing country I almost always go through a stage where I feel guilty. Why do I have more than enough food to eat when many people in Haiti don’t know if they’ll get one meal a day? Why do I have clean water on tap when a vast majority of the world does not? Why was I born in America when most of the world will never be given the kind of opportunity my country offers me?
But I’ve learned something over the years. If I respond to the intense need that I’ve seen in Haiti because I feel guilty for what I have, then all I’m really doing is trying to appease God. “Appease” is a strong word because it implies that God is angry at me for doing something and I’m trying to earn my way back into His grace. How do I earn grace? I don’t, I have to accept it as a gift and once I do then scripture says that “there is, therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1.
The other thing about guilt is that it may motivate someone in the short term to do some so-called “good” but it doesn’t work long term. It doesn’t change the inside of a person – except to possibly make a person bitter or angry.
So instead of asking “why do I have so much food?” I think a better question is “Why don’t Haitians have enough food?” Instead of asking “Why do I have clean water on tap?” I think a better question is “Why do so many people still die from drinking bad water?” If I focus my questions in that direction than I don’t feel guilty, I feel motivated to do something!
Right now, I’ve never felt more motivated!
