We walked into church today and as I went to sit down, I turned and there was Junior. I
sat down and picked him up and set him on my lap. He sat very quietly until after
Sacrament was passed and then he slipped off of my lap and went to his mother.
A different perspective: Our Sunday School teacher told of the following experience
which sheds so much light on why so many African people are the way they are. He and
two other men were cleaning up the chapel after church was over one Sunday when all
three of them at the same time noticed someone had left their purse on a chair. They
all went to get the purse. They were standing there looking at the purse and one of
them picked it up and opened it and saw there was money in it. A second man said
they should take the purse to the clerk's office for safe-keeping until someone claimed
it. The man holding the purse told the other two men that it was his because God was
providing for his needs. The teacher did not tell the end of the story. But it sure made
me think. If this man truly in his heart felt that God was providing for his needs and this
money was a blessing from God, is it stealing to take it? To me, yes it is stealing. But
how would the Lord look at it? The Lord knows the intent of someone's heart. If this
man truly did not feel he was stealing, was he? I wouldn't want to be the judge. Many
of the African people feel that whatever is in their hand, it belongs to them. If you loan
them a pen to sign a contract, as far as they are concerned, the pen is theirs. If you put
a strap on their propane tank in the back of your truck to keep it from falling over, the
strap is theirs. If they need a drink of water and you give them water in a cup, they
think the cup is theirs. If it is raining and they need an umbrella and yours is sitting
there they take it. It is not stealing it is God providing. Only the Lord knows the intent
of ones heart.
Today at Church, I was asked for medicine (which I don't have), to help with school
fees, to buy a woman a small hymnal from the distribution center, 400,000 Leones so
someone could get medical treatment, and a sandwich. I said "no" to everything except
the sandwich. I brought the Sister home with me and made her two sandwiches and
gave her two bags of water. She was beyond thankful.
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