For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.
He will take pity on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.
He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
for precious is their blood in his sight. (Psalms 72:12-14) (NIV)
A rickety bus dropped our team where pavement gave way to ruts. This was a Muslim slum in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Africa. The schoolroom filled with those wanting to learn English, in hopes it would edge them out of poverty. There were demure women, glassy eyed men, and eager children whose disillusionment would only come later.
Outside the classroom, my heart grieved at the sight below, a sea of corrugated steel huts and plastic tarps over mud walls. There might have been one hundred thousand souls crowded into that valley. Sewage waited in gutters for the next storm.
“Not long ago,” a resident pointed to the hovels, “soldiers stood here and shot at the refugees. Used them for target practice.”
I gasped, then grew nauseous.
When I look behind the tourist photos in developing nations and realize how the masses live, it’s difficult to continue.
What keeps me going is the knowledge that the horror covering the majority of our earth does not go unnoticed by the Great Rewarder. In that valley in Abidjan were drops of unjustly spilled blood that were precious to God. The great Jehovah is not one to sit by without action. Soon, just around the corner of our era, the Lord God will rescue the downtrodden who cry out to him, and anoint them with eternal blessings through Christ.
It is this coming reality that inspires me to help the needy now, to treat them with the dignity demanded for sons and daughters of the Most High King. There will be a final reckoning and I’m accountable for my contributions to their misery by my action, or inaction. Staying home to lick my own wounds is not an option, not while they’re out there still suffering today.
Prayer: Father of Justice, use me to love your mistreated children.