I'm not a sports fan, so if you are, take this with a grain of salt.
Today we toured the local university's sports facilities. $65 million dollars for basketball and $45 million for the football. The Dallas Cowboys new stadium costs a BILLION dollars. Companies donate millions of dollars to help pay for these places. People pay $25,000 for a year least on one of the glassed-in rooms with 12 seats in it to watch college basketball.
I'm sorry, People, but this is INSANE. Americans can feed every hungry person in the world with the money we spend on ice cream alone. Just on ice cream. Can you imagine the good we could do if all that money going to sports went to care for the basic needs of people--nutritious food, clean water, medicine, education. . .the opportunity to hear the Gospel?
I am not against sports. I just kinda freak when I hear these kind of numbers. I have similar feelings about many frivolous things. Everything from fingernails to Hummers. The church I attend on Sunday mornings is raising money for 2 signs for the building. They cost $60,000. Yeah. I have a problem with that, too.
Meanwhile, I'm reading a biography to the kids about William Booth. The first time he brought new believers from the slums to church, the church leaders asked him not to bring them back. They didn't have proper clothes and they stank. The leaders suggested having them put on their "Sunday best" and take a bath. The problem was they only had the clothes on their backs and there was only one water pump for every 50 hovels. And that water pump only worked for 20 minutes a day. They needed that water for drinking and cooking. They couldn't use it for the luxury of a bath. The church leaders' response? Keep bringing the Bible studies to their slums; don't bring them to church. (Hey, I have a suggestion: why not raise money to get them some more water and donate some decent clothes? While you're at it, why not fix up their homes and provide some medical care!)
I'll step off my soapbox now. Please forgive me. I know I'm a hypocrite. Maybe I would never lease a $25,000 room to watch basketball in, but I live in a roomy house. I may not get my nails done, but I buy a latte here and there. I would probably never buy a Hummer, but I haven't been visiting the homeless or serving meals at the soup kitchen.
I wonder if I could find someone to watch Mr. Iz Troublemaker while I took the rest of the kids on a service project on a regular basis.
2 comments:
You are not hypocrite, you are just real in your post. I live in lalala..so I didn't hear all this info ..thanks for posting here...now I can explain a thing or two to the kids.
We should all be thinking more about how incredibly fortunate we are to be born in America to Christain parents who loved us and were able to provide us a lifestyle that most of the people of the world cannot even imagine.
Post a Comment