Need more than talk

     Yesterday I was part of a group of Volleyball officials who assisted in the Valor Games at UNC-Chapel Hill.  It was a delightful day of exercise, silliness, and fellowship as about 30 veterans engaged in competition of "seated volleyball."  All players had to have their bottoms on the floor as they played. It was a great equalizer as nobody had played before and even people who had played volleyball before  had not played on their bottoms.
     The Valor Games are programs run by volunteers to bring veterans together to have some experiences that bring some fun, brings some social interaction, and bring some feelings of being able to participate in life again after the horrors of war.  Many of these veterans were missing arms, legs, and eyes.  Their emotional concerns were not visible.  But in the seated volleyball they all had a great time. As the competition moved towards the championship, the chatter, the razzing, the good natured trash talking, and laughter increased.
     There was an opening exercise to the games which had all of the public speakers telling these 100 veterans who were involved in all the different games how much they were appreciated, how grateful we were for their sacrifices and how much we admired them.
     But there is something immoral about the whole thing. We were volunteers and unpaid. The speakers talked about how much we owed all our military.  And yet the Veteran's Administration is somehow unable to handle the work of providing these veterans with the services they need. The VA hospitals are over crowded and unfunded. The military does not encourage soldiers to report their problems, politicians will talk lots but refused to increase the spending for these veterans.  We heard a lot of nice speeches, but these soldiers deserve more than talk.
     These soldiers particularly need for us to step forward and provide all the help and benefits we can provide because they were sent to fight two very unnecessary wars.  Our struggles with terrorists could very well have been engaged in as we engage in fighting the mafia.  The international community would have been much more helpful if we had worked with them to contain the terrorists. These soldiers were continuously returned to the combat zones and the draft was never resumed to make these wars become a national concern.  We used the National Guard as part of the regular army which was never its intention.
      We sent these young people to fight in strange places in unconventional wars that were really invasions by our country that were unnecessary, and now we cannot provide for them all of the help they need?  A major embarrassment for us.  On this memorial day week-end we will again hear lots of speeches. What these soldiers need is help, not talk.

Christian Love is something you do.

     The woman owned most of the land in the community and she was the queen of the society in her town. In the 1960's she had urged her church to sponsor and integrated summer program in their downtown church.  Naturally the officers of the church voted to approve this program, even holding their noses, because she thought it was a good idea.

     The young pastor of that church was now sitting in her parlor and venting his anger and frustration because the treasurer of the church would not write any checks to pay the bills for the integrated program because he did not think it was something the church should be doing.   The young minister was ranting and complaining and telling the woman how much he disliked the treasurer.

     The woman kindly looked at the young minister and said, "Oh, you don't know him like I do. You have not lived with him as long as I have. When you get to know him better, you will dislike him even more.

     But "Whoever told you Christian love is about how you feel towards somebody?  Christian love is not how you feel. Christian love is something you do."
 
     And it is true all through the New Testament Christian love is about doing to those you don't like, whom you cannot stand, and doing to them what you would do to those you like. It is about feeding those who you think are lazy and worthless. It is about clothing the children who sass you. It is about treating those who are sneaky and mean, the way you would treat the kind and gentle.

     Jesus says that our place in heaven depends on how we treat those who are not the best and brightest. They way we feed the hungry, the thirsty, the lame, and the prisoner is the way we treat our friends. Jesus asks Peter, do you love me?  Then feed my sheep.

     Jesus on the Cross did not just die for those whom he liked. Jesus died on the cross to save those who persecuted him very much as he died for those he liked. Christian love does not care how you feel about somebody. It is about doing for all people what you would do for your friends.  Love is something you do.