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Chapter Eleven Mary and AndreaMary was exhausted from weeping. Her once bright and beautiful little Andrea was now wasting away in her bed and near death. The medicine that could save her life cost only a few pennies. But Mary had nothing, and in her country, there is no aid to the poor. Near Andrea’s one room house was a soft drink machine that was kept busy day and night. Mary decided to stand nearby and beg for the few coins that would save her daughter's life. As people approached and began to dig in their pockets for some change, Mary explained her plight. Some people ignored her, bought their soft drink and hurried away. But most painful for Mary were those who heard and understood her story, thought for a moment, and even then, chose the drink over her daughter's life. After pleading for hours with dozens of people, no one had given her anything. As she neared the breaking point, her sister came with the news, “Andrea is dead.” How do you think Mary felt? How would you feel? What do you think of the people at the soft drink machine? Would you have given Mary your spare change? You can! You probably recognized this story as a parable in which Mary represents God the Father, Andrea is the 30,000 children who die every day from preventable poverty-related causes, and the soft drink buyers are U.S. Christians. With the money we spend on soft drinks, coffee, cable TV, golfing, boating, eating out, over-eating, dieting, sporting events, movies, and other discretionary items, we can save tens of millions of God’s children. We are standing at the machine with coins in our hands. I personally believe God, like Mary, is pleading with us to make the right choice. Some people say that God doesn’t need our money: “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” Will you really blame God for these tragedies? He has given us enough “cattle” to feed the world and has commanded us to do it. We have to decide whether to share what He’s given us with the dying or spend it on ourselves. “He who is kind to the poor, lends to the Lord…” (Proverbs 19:17 emphasis mine). Let’s rise up and become known as the generation that saved the world. You can start by eliminating one unnecessary item from your life and giving the money you save to a worthwhile organization. The feeling you get saving a child from a hopeless life will more than compensate for the loss of whatever you give up. Do you wonder if you can do it? If you knew your next sip of coffee would instantly kill you, you would never drink coffee again. If you knew your next step on a golf course would kill you, you would never play golf again. If you knew the next time you turned on the TV you would instantly die, you would never watch TV again. If you could give up these things to save your own life, you can give up something to save the life of another.
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