The other week we did a little experiment in your youth group that had us look at the true demographics of our world by looking the State of the Village report. The visual was staggering as we considered that most citizens of this planet do not have access to free education, three squares a day, clean drinking water, let alone an ipod, flat screen tv, guitar hero, or even a cell phone! Much of the things that we take for granted are considered luxuries in many places in the world. This information causes me to raise several questions. And I will write about each of these questions. Today I will write about my first question: Are we better because we have more stuff and education?
It is my opinion that the world says YES. Kids make fun of the kids who do not wear designer clothes in grade school. This continues in high school. And sometimes in middle school and high school people are judged by what private or magnet school they attend. In college people are judged by the prestige(cost) of the university they attend. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with wearing designer clothes or geting the best education you can. The heart of this issue is when you decided that your value as a person is higher than the value of another person based on the amount of expensive stuff you own or how much money you paid or someone else paid for your school.
As a citizen of the Kingdom of God, I need to think before I decide to measure another's worth. And what I need to think about is the worth they have by simply being created in the image of God. I need to remember that there is always hope for someone to experience the transforming love of Christ. I also need to remember that I, myself, am a far-from-perfect-but-still-trying follower of Christ. And maybe, just maybe, my time with someone could be an opportunity for them to see Christ. That would also mean I would need to get out of the way. More of Christ, Less of me!
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