After A Year

The most recent visit to the hematologist Monday was a milestone for Paul, as he has been given the official okay to start tapering his immunosuppressant, cyclosporine. Good thing too, as his kidneys are affected by the drugs and not working as well as they should. Lord willing, he'll be off his medications by May 15 (last day) and ironically, a year after his original diagnosis of Aplastic Anemia.

So much has changed in a year. Life has been turned upside down and shaken down to its very core.

So, that's why we choose to speak out on what God's mercy has given us. Cause to celebrate His blessing of life to us and conviction to share this blessing with others. Including materially, in a sacrificial manner. Not trying to sound self-righteous at all, but perhaps it has come across this way.

At least judging by the relative silence in response to our last email pointing out how by "living high" we are "letting (others) die."

Life is curious indeed.

Living High and Letting Die

What is the difference in saving a child from drowning in a shallow pond vs. sending $100 to UNICEF to save Third World children? Most of us would immediately do the first, but hardly any would do the latter. Written from a secular, philosophical perspective, Peter Unger's book, "Living High and Letting Die: Our Illusion of Innocence" makes the moral argument that not doing the latter is morally worse.

How sad that we as Christians don’t even recognize our inertia in helping out our fellow human beings. Instead, we choose to hide behind the practice of tithing (see my blog entry on “Why I Hate Tithing”) or other justifications that allow us to continue to indulge in ourselves instead of helping others. And we continue to maintain this “illusion of innocence” when, in fact, by our very lifestyles and choices, we are starving our fellow man. For other commentaries on our spending habits and priorities, see the following websites:

• www.worldonfire.ca (Sarah McLachlan's very powerful music video - shame that a Christian musician didn't come up with the same idea)


• Joel Mawhorter's slideshow about how we spend our money and what our priorities are


• The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man: Luke 16:14-31

For those so inclined, click here for my book review of "Living High and Letting Die" (apologies to those true philosophers in the audience).

Solutions?
Here are some organizations to start sending money to NOW:
CARE
Oxfam
World Vision
Partners International

Email me if you need more organizations. Your feedback is welcomed.