Recently all the major cable networks participated in a telethon to benefit the people in Haiti who have been devastated by the recent earthquakes. It was a horrible, yet heart-warming 2 hours. I watched celebrities from all walks of life come together for one evening and join together in love for their fellow man. Actors, actresses, singers, etc. All were there for the event, whether it was to answer the phone or sing for entertainment, they were there, amid stories and pictures from the people of Haiti. Millions were moved to donate to the cause, even if it was just to talk with a celebrity such as Leo DeCaprio, Jennifer Aniston, Steven Spielberg, or Taylor Swift on the phone.
What I soon noticed was people's Facebook status' reflecting their thoughts on the telethon. While I changed my status to hopeful words from Michael Jackson, many other changes theirs to complaints about having nothing to watch on TV, about how horrible our government is for providing all this relief to Haiti when our own country is in need of aid. While, this may be true, we are FAR better off than the people of Haiti. Yes, there are wrongs here that need to be righted. But the same can be said for every country. And when we're helping another group of people so devastatingly broken is NOT the time to bring up our country's small issues. What I wouldn't give to take those cynics and place them in a Haitian hospital with the sick and dying and those trying to save them. I wonder where their hateful words would be then?? But beyond the fact that helping Haiti is our nation's responsibility as one of the main powers of the world, it is also our Christian duty as people of Jesus. As Jesus said:
"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
The question of whether you help those people in need is not if we should or shouldn't. It's what would Jesus do.
Cynicism is apathy. Apathy doesn't help anyone. But those who posses it seem to have a hard time realizing that.
If you missed the telethon I strongly suggest going to YouTube and searching for the performances from that night. They were so inspiring and beautiful. Jennifer Hudson's cover of The Beatles "Let it Be" was impressive.
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