Today, I
walked into a conversation when our contact Mark said, “you end up being a
humanitarian, not a Christian.� I don’t
know what they were talking about but that simple statement has me really
thinking.
How often
are we living our lives as a humanitarian, not a Christian? This is a serious question that I cannot
ignore, but one that I need to honestly ask myself. It’s a question that isn’t just for me
either.
What is the
difference anyways?
According to
the Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com a humanitarian is “a person promoting human welfare and social reform, pertaining to the
saving of human lives to the alleviation of suffering: a humanitarian crisis.�
Christian
according to the same two sources is “one
who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ, a person who exemplifies
in his or her life the teachings of Christ.�
For me
looking at these definitions I ask myself do I truly live as Christian. Just because I am on an eleven month mission
trip doesn’t make me a Christian. If I serve
at a homeless shelter, build houses in Haiti, or make care packages for the
military oversees it doesn’t mean that I am a Christian. There is something that separates Christians
from humanitarians and it is not always the “works.� What is it?
Here is an explanation
from World relief, “what
separates the good deeds of Christians from the good deeds of others?
It is the love of Christ. It is not the work being done; it is the heart of the
person doing the work. The fulfillment of God’s master plan is not based on the
good works of Christians. In fact, as Joseph realized, God uses every situation
and circumstance. “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it
for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.� (Gen
50:20)
We do good works to show
the lost the loving hand of God. We do good works to offer hope to others, so
they can recognize the power that resides in our hearts �” and realize that
power is freely available to them. When the receiver of assistance asks “Why
are you helping me?� what benefit do they receive when the answer is “Because
we feel every person deserves a chance� or “Because it is the right
thing to do�? This fragile hope is based on human kindness, which
will eventually fail them, plunging them back into darkness. Yet when the
answer is “Because Jesus loves you�, the hope is anchored to an
everlasting truth that will never falter.
We are
called to exemplify, embody, and demonstrate Christ. That is what separates Christians from
Humanitarians. The only question that
is left to ask is,
Are you
living a life of a humanitarian or a Christian?
Here’s an interesting essay that I stumbled across when I was writing this blog, take it for what it is worth: http://www.ethicsdaily.com/christian-mission-vs-humanitarian-relief-cms-13674
