Intentional

Dean just got back from a great conference late Thursday night called Q. I still don't know why it's called that, but it looks like it was awesome. He came back with a bag (reusable of course- not those dreaded plastic bags) full of great books and even a pound of coffee. Of course this was a coffee drinking crowd, so I'm sure that went over well. Anyway, as I was looking through his stuff and reading different articles that the presenters had written, there was one common thread: Intentionality. Everyone from the guy who founded TOMS Shoes, to the guy who began the movement "To Write Love On Her Arms", and even one of the leaders on the forefront of eradicating nuclear weapons from the world. It was quite the diverse group, I can imagine.

As I sit here and look at my bag of coffee from Rwanda (and it's really delicious) and see that each bag I purchase sends $3 to the widows of the village that harvests the beans, it makes me okay with the fact that I don't have a coupon for Land of a Thousand Hills coffee. And I might even buy some TOMS shoes so that a pair of shoes will be donated to someone who needs it (they're not on sale, I have no coupon). And who doesn't want a world without nuclear weapons?!? Sign me up for that one! Not sure how to do that yet, but I'll let the experts figure that one out.

All of these humanitarian endeavors are wonderful things that Christians should be engaged in without question. But the problem comes when we think that these efforts are to solve the world's problems. Dean and I have had this discussion many times: we can feed and clothe the world's widows and orphans (which we're commanded to do biblically), rid the world of nuclear weapons, and spread peace, love, and harmony, but if people don't have Jesus, they're still going to hell. They'll just be happier on the way there. As Christians, we can't just stop with being humanitarian. Be intentional, not just with the causes you support, but also with the name you proclaim.