Smiling At the Future

I’ve had a few comments/emails about the post I asked Desiree if I could use here on human trafficking.  The comments go something along the lines of “if we’re supposed to smile at the future, isn’t that sort of depressing”?

Well yes.  It is.  Human trafficking is depressing.  Poverty is depressing.  The fact that nearly one billion people around the world don’t have access to clean water is depressing.

But here’s the thing.

It’s only depressing if we resign ourselves to the belief that there is nothing we can do about it.  Some, when faced with problems such as these become despondent, think ‘there’s nothing we can do’ and give up.  And yes.  That is depressing.

But others become inspired.  Others become motivated.  Others look for opportunities and other people to work together to put even a small dent in the problem.  Those people, rather than give up, become inspired….and determined…and have hope.

Besides, we have a future we can smile at.  And once you find that out for yourself, once you truly smile at your own future…..there’s a next step.

I believe that once we know that we have a future we can smile at, it is our responsibility to show others that they have one as well.  I also know (and come on, you know this too, this isn’t new)….I also know that there is plenty of instructions throughout the Bible, not to mention Christ’s example as we’re to become Christ-like, about helping the poor, the sick, the needy, the widows and orphans, etc etc and so on.

Right?

Find Your Niche

For me, I’ve always been a ‘global issues’ kind of girl.  I have friends who do most of their work on their block and down the street.  That’s okay.  We are each given different types of strengths, talents, and gifts that we’re meant to put to use.  And we’re also each given different ‘desires of the heart’, different things speak to each of us.  That’s because there’s enough to be done out there in the world that no one person can do it , so we need people to work in different areas and on different issues.

And faith?  Faith requires action.  Faith requires works.

What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works?  Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food and one of you says to them “Go in peace be warmed and filled” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?”  Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself – James 2 14-17

I believe we have a responsibility to those who can’t help themselves, to those who don’t have a voice. I believe we have a responsibility to future generations.   I believe we have a responsibility to those who don’t smile at the future to help them be able to do that.

Besides, one of the best ways to find a future you can smile at is to get your mind off yourself and to serve others.  So it works all the way around.

I may talk from time to time here about specific issues.   The intention behind that is not just to bring awareness and hopefully, as this grows, begin to be able to do more and more work in those areas.

The intention behind it is to encourage you to find where you can use your talents to help others in whatever way you can.  If the most you can do today truly is to pray — then do that.  Do something.  It will help you — and it will help give them a future they can smile at as well.

Since we’re talking about this today, I saw this brief, one-minute video from Not For Sale on Twitter yesterday.  It just gave me a little hope and a little smile to see people in Cape Town, SA praying for those trapped in slavery today.  And yes, it’s people praying.  But that’s powerful.  It’s powerful indeed.

What can you do?  Where can you help?  How can you share the way to a bright future with others today?

Love,

deb

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 8th, 2010 at 10:07 am and is filed under Be the Change, Faith, Hope. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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