John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Recently on my Facebook page, I have made a fervent appeal to all those who are listed as “Friends”, to come to the aide of a young woman and her newborn son on Bantayan Island in the Philippines. Little “Gerard” was born with a condition called “hydroencephalitus”, or “water on the brain”, that causes pressure to build in the skull, and can cause death or brain damage. If this child can obtain surgery quickly, he can be rescued from death and lead a normal life. For less than $2,500.00 we can obtain the life saving surgery needed for little Gerard.
After making the appeal for financial assistance to all of my friends, only 7 people out of hundreds, responded with a donation or promise of prayer for baby Gerard.
I posted a question on Facebook asking, “What does it mean when a call goes out to help save a babies life, and “Friends” do nothing? The husband of a young woman that I have known for many years, railed against me, acussing me of trying to extort money from people to line my own pockets, and instructed me to get “a real job”.
After the initial hurt and feelings of deep sadness, I tried to resume my forward motion to continue to help the poor of Bantayan Island. You see my wife and I do not receive any of the money given to the poor. We have a Christian publishing company, “Teach The Word Ministries”, that distributes my Bible commentary and books around the world. We live on the small salary that I receive from our company, and therefore never ask anyone to give money to us for our own needs.
I am sure that you know what it feels like to be falsely accused by people who don’t even know you. It causes a stir in your heart that makes you re-evaluate whether or not to continue on in the area that you have been criticized in.
As a pastor, one of my jobs is to make comfortable those who are hurting and in need of comfort. To those Christians who have become too comfortable in their walk with Jesus and no longer are pro active in their faith, sometimes I have to make them a little uncomfortable. I think that it is a valid question for us to ask ourselves, what it means when we have the power to save a babies life by a small donation, or to commit to pray for a child and his family, and we choose to ignore the plea for help. This young man said that I should understand that I don’t know the circumstance of the people on Facebook and that perhaps I should not be so hard on those who ignored our pleas for help.
The people who live in the fishing village where we also live on Bantayan Island, exist on about $40.00 per month, less than $500.00 per year. It is safe to say that the average American spends more than $500.00 per year on their entertainment and personal interests. Americans do not have to worry about clothing and food, and sending their kids to school. Most live in comfortable homes, with running water, toilets and a refrigerator.
The following pictures come from our www.bantayanisland.org web site where we make the conditions of the people on this tiny island know to the world, and we plead for help to change their lives:
This is the type of home that the average fisherman lives in, on Bantayan Island.
Could you imagine what it is like to wake up each day with your family in a home like these? Could you fathom what living on just $40.00 a month would mean to your life? How would you deal with the birth of new baby boy who will die if he doesn’t obtain brain surgery that cost more than you will be able to make in your entire lifetime?
These dear people have no help from anyone in the outside world. They have no voice to make their plight known to the people of the world, except through us. So we plead for them. If necessary, we tell the truth to Christians around the world in such a way that they wake up from their comfortable slumber and see how blessed they are, and how much other people suffer in far off countries. We try to bring conviction to the hearts of people who claim to know Jesus, yet do nothing when a plea for help goes out to help a desperately poor mother.
No good deed goes unpunished though. Often we are accused of trying to enrich ourselves by begging for money. We are ridiculed for being missionaries in a third world country and told that we should come back to the U.S. and get “Real Jobs” to support our family.
Truth is very expensive once we set out to find it. Very often we are confronted with the sin that is in our own heart, as see the desperate need for change. Less often are we willing to hear that we need to change, or to see the darkness of our heart. Let me assure you that it is just as hard for me to change my hard and dark heart when I am confronted with truth, as it must be for you. Perhaps it is a little easier for us because we live right next door to the poor on this island. We see their suffering, we pray with them, comfort their tears and try to assure them that there are some people in this world that do care about them.
So, we continue to ask for help, beg if necessary. For if we do not, then they will have nothing, and their suffering will continue for the rest of their often short lives.
My “Friends” on Facebook can simply delete me from their list of friends and be done with the whole matter. That way they will never have to be confronted with the fact that there are people around the world who are suffering, while they ignore their pleas for help, and continue to live on anyway they choose. Or they can do what we have done, once we saw the desperate need of these people. Forget ourselves a little, and give just a little of our time and our money to show people the Love of Jesus Christ in real an meaningful ways.
Rob Robinson
