As long as there are under-resourced people, there will be opinions and theories as to why people are under-resourced. Some will argue that it's bad luck whether that's a medical disease or a natural disaster. Some will say it's the result of poor planning whether that's not having an 'emergency fund' or whether that's having skills in an area that's no longer needed (typewriter maintenance, for instance, or many American manufacturing jobs). Some will say it's the result of bad government, whether that's too many taxes (and thus not enough incentive for businesses to hire employees) or too little taxes (and thus not enough money to provide for unemployment and job training for those who are in between jobs). Some will say it's the result of attitude.
When people fall on hard times, or when 3,000 kids in the Sioux Falls School district don't have enough to eat on the weekend, or when billions of people live on less than $2 a day, it's natural to ask 'whose fault is this?'.
I'm not sure I can answer that question, but I know whose fault it isn't- it's not the children's fault.
It's not the Ethiopian orphan's fault that her mom and dad both died from AIDS.
It's not the Sioux Falls' first grader fault that her parents are recent immigrants here.
It's not the Sioux Falls' middle schooler's fault that one parent isn't in the picture and that one parent works two jobs just to make ends meet.
It's not the foster care kid's fault that mom, dad, or both made dumb decisions and thus can't parent him.
I think what motivates most if not all of our interest in serving the community- from Sioux Falls to Sudan- is this realization that there are children's lives at stake. Children who didn't take a drug, children who didn't drop out of high school, children who didn't contract AIDS, children who didn't commit a violent act, simply children. We can argue all we want about whose to blame for the world's ills, but we should be able to agree on who isn't at fault . . . and then do something about it.
Amen!
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