Week 3: Compassion. Day 19

Day 19: Remember Those Who are Suffering

Warning: This blog is a bit stronger than my others.

Verse from Heartwork for today:
Hebrews 13:1-3
"Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

I want you to hold your breath for as long as you can (up to one minute). While doing so, time yourself, and keep track of every 6 seconds with your fingers (as in 6sec=1finger).

When you are done, look at your hands and see how many fingers you are holding up. That is how many children died in the time it took for you to hold your breath. Now multiply that number by 1440, which is how many minutes are in one day.

Every day, about 142,000 children in the world die from malnutrition, bad water, preventable diseases, neglect, or abortion. Oh, and one more thing: not one of them got to see their 5th birthday.

The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) estimates that "17,000 children under the age of 5 die every day, mostly from preventable or treatable causes." (http://www.unicef.org/statistics/)

Of the 142,000 children, 115,000 are abortions. 3,300 of those occur in the United States. (Abortion facts-Allied Women's Center)

I have another 10,000 in there to cover what I assume isn't reported (such as deaths due to neglect in government orphanages, abuse in the trafficking industry, or organ harvesting), and those who are over the age of 5, but are still under age 18. Another statistic that UNICEF had was that every 10 minutes, somewhere in the world, an adolescent girl dies as a result of violence (same webpage).

In short, enough children die around the world every day to fill Red Rocks to capacity 14 times, to fill the Pepsi Center 7 times, or to fill Mile High Stadium 1.8 times. That adds up to about 50 million every year. (So next time you watch a Broncos game, you can look at the stands and imagine all of those people dying, and compound that by 365)

I did this research because I was curious, but now that I know I am stunned.

So what's the good news? This: now you know. If you don't know, you can't do anything. But now that you know, that's the first step towards action.
But what can we do? Personally, I don't know. But I know this: we serve a God who knows, loves, and sees every single child, and he has the power to save them. All we need to do is pray, to get linked in with what he wants us to do.

My advice is that every night for a week, before you go to sleep, think to yourself "Another 142,000 children died today." Then pray. Pray for them, and for you. Maybe by the end of it, you will know what you should do. It may be that you will pray for workers to be sent, or for those who have already been sent. Maybe you will donate to an organization or sponsor a child. Maybe you will adopt or foster. Maybe you will share these numbers with those around you to spread awareness. But there is one thing that I am convinced of: We should not stand by any more. Ignorance may be bliss, but God does not call us to ignorance. Instead, he calls us to service and to change.

My prayer is almost perfectly reflected by Psalms 9:18-20
"But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish. Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence. Strike them with terror, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men."

The needy will not always be forgotten. Remember those who are suffering. Remember the 142,000.