Rescue those being led away to death;
Hold back those staggering towards slaughter.
If you say "We knew nothing about this,"
Does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not He who guards your life know it?
Will He not repay each person according to what he has done? Proverbs24:11-12
It is more and more common these days for people to be less and less interested in or concerned about the fate of others. "It's none of my business!" we say. We don't want to intrude. We don't think we can do anything. And, besides, we have enough problems of our own.
The challenge that comes from these verses is a very serious one. Cain asked "Am I my brother's keeper?" Scripture seems unequivocal - we are our brothers' and sisters' keeper. God will hold us responsible if we stand on the sidelines watching someone go under.
It's important for us to make a decision to get involved to help wherever and whenever we can. It's often complex, it's often messy, it's often time-consuming and energy-sapping, but one day it might be us who needs help.
Greg X Volz, one time lead singer of the Gospel Rock Band, Petra, put out a solo album with this song:
Man Overboard.
I'm sure that you remember him, he used to come around here a lot,
He never wanted much attention,
but he could hear the things we taught,
He's got a lot of trouble at home,
and I've been trying to give him a hand,
And lately he's been slipping deeper,
and I don't know how long he'll stand.
Somebody help me.
There's a man overboard, sinking in the turning tide,
There's a man overboard,
and I don't know what sent him over the side,
But there isn't much time, (isn't much time)
No.
I know it's easy to shake your head and say,
"Too bad," and walk away,
Done it far too many times myself,
when I couldn't find a thing to say,
But this is my brother, this is my friend;
I love him more than I can tell,
And I can't bail him out all by myself,
and I won't watch him go to hell.
Somebody help me.
There's a man overboard, sinking in the turning tide,
There's a man overboard; well,
I don't know what sent him over the side,
But there isn't much time, (isn't much time)
No.
Why are we here? Why do we live?
How can we take more than we give?
There's a man overboard, he's sinking in the turning tide,
There's a man overboard; don't know what sent him over the side,
There's a man overboard, sinking in the turning tide,
There's a man overboard,
and I don't know what sent him over the side,
But there isn't much time, (isn't much time)
(You can listen to the song here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrNS0r89owI )
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
