Our Babylon

In our recently completed ladies' Bible study on Daniel, Beth Moore focused on the need for Christians to recognize their "Babylon." In other words, what is it that distracts them from their desire to serve the Lord. She pointed out that a telltale sign of a culture in demise is losing touch with the poor. An ultimate reality of living in Indonesia and Angola has been to see that we [as Americans] have little understanding of the poverty of the rest of the world. We give our clothes or food to the homeless in the U.S., but they often have a place to seek refuge if they want it. We give money to different agencies to buy presents for children but rarely see the faces of those recipients. We choose to live in certain areas of cities so we are not subjected to living near people who don't live up to the same standards we do. In other words, poverty is generally not a firsthand experience for us. It is quite another thing to step out of your doorway and confront poverty wherever you look. Now I must say, we live in a very nice part of Luanda, but we don't have to walk more than a couple blocks to see the other side. Masses of people living in poorly constructed shacks or shanties. Scantily clad children playing in the dirt. Someone drinking out of a muddy gutter or washing clothes in water sewage. Many with missing limbs or gross deformities. Orphanages with no fresh water source. Smells of garbage and urine as we cross the street into church each Sunday.


At Christmastime, the U.S. news reported how difficult it was going to be for parents to tell their children they couldn't wouldn't be getting as much for Christmas this year because of the economic crisis. One lady in our study asked for prayer for our college graduates having to go through such tough economic times and looking for a job. All of these things have put me in mind of my need to assess my response to the poor. Living overseas as an expats, we are certainly enjoying the good life without any concern for being able to afford things we want--even in a city billed at the world's most expensive. In fact, it is this incredible disparity which drives me to consider my Babylon. I have been forever changed by living in a third-world country. I see the richness and ease of life in the U.S., and even those who are experiencing tough times have it ten times better than most here. I have begun looking at the financial crash as a purging of our mindset---of all those things which we have always taken for granted (or depended on) because they have come so easily. How convicted I have felt over my attitude towards people living in such conditions, and how pressed I feel to make a difference in the lives of those around us. However, it seems like an incredibly small drop in a very gigantic barrel.