Smacks over Snacks

One of the great perks of being the child of a World Vision worker is the well informed "eat all your dinner because there are starving..." lectures at the dinner table. On occasion Keelia's dinner time life lesson has even extended beyond the dinner table, across to the lounge room to view a video message of just how bad some kiddies have it in various parts of our biased world. Needless to say that at 2.5 years Keelia has developed quite the sense of social justice.

The other day Keelia was at work with me and as I left she saw the pictures on the walls of some of our worlds most needy. Obviously touched, she turned to me and said, "I don't like the poor kiddies". I was a little surprised so asked her why. She replied, "Because it is just too sad". I don't think that this is a feeling limited to the heart of my little two year old.

The agenda of poverty and injustice doesn't make the daily play-list of many homes, workplaces, text messages or my space postings. For that matter the fact that NZ/Aus are amongst the very worst givers of world aid (while 30000 children die every day from hunger or preventable disease) doesn't even seem a big enough issue for a pulpit prompt let alone a holy protest. The problem is that until these thing make our daily diaries nothing will be done. Unless these issues become a point of focus nothing will change. Alternatively, look at what happened when the church rose up on multitude and said enough is enough to the unthinkable travesty that everyday 30000 children would go without their daily smacks.

The thing is that I don't think poverty and injustice gets overlooked because people don't care. On the contrary, I think it is just too sad. And we aren't good at sad. Let's not think about it.