Hotel Rwanda

I just finished watching Hotel Rwanda - not your average movie for a weeknight, but I had never seen it and it is one of the movies we will be showing our students at some point during the school. It was the story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who sheltered 1,268 Tutsi and Hutu refugees during the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

At one point in the movie, he speaks with an American journalist who was filming the massacre and said, "I am glad you have shot this footage and that the world will see it. It is the only way we have a chance that people might intervene." To which he replied, "I think if people see this footage, they'll say, 'Oh, my God, that's horrible,' and then go on eating their dinners."

What a sad truth. How often have we watched a movie addressing justice issues, or read an article, or even watched the evening news and said, "What a pity", only to turn the channel, or flip the page without another thought? What a thought - that God himself is a witness to these very atrocities, and yet, it is a channel he does not change. He sees the injustice of the world every moment, and it makes me wonder, Does he feel angered at our ease in overlooking such things?

It is a good question to ask, because, after all - we are the Body of Christ. What does that mean, anyway? Does it mean God is with me in whatever I choose to do, or does it mean I should be doing what He has a heart to do?A body is ultimately accountable to the head, to perform what the electrical impulses direct it to do. However, it seems the Body of Christ has demonstrated (in some areas, at least) that there is nerve damage. We see this demonstrated in our lack of response to the injustices of our world. I daresay that most of the world looks at their situation - of poverty, AIDs, and outright injustice and questions, "Where is God?" while we sit within our safe houses and rejoice in the fact that Jesus said he would be with us all the time.

Why am I writing these things? To bring condemnation? Far from it: I simply want to arouse our compassion. I once read that the opposite of love is not hate: it is indifference. (Because if you hate someone, it means you still care.) And if we allow ourselves to become indifferent towards the very ones God wishes most to touch, who else will He recruit? There is no one, and since God has chosen to limit Himself by choosing to work through us, it leaves this generation without a physical representation of a spiritual God.

So what can we do about it? First, we must recognize that our efforts do not have to be the size of the problem in order to be effective. Jesus said, "If you give a cup of cold water to one of these little ones - as my disciple - you will certainly not lose your reward." The smallest kindness takes on eternal value when we do it out of love for God. Secondly: Stop and pray for one minute. One minute. That's all. If we decide to put it off until later, we may never remember, but if we pause and pray right then - then we have done something about the problem. Third, if you feel moved to do something more - do it! That is all God desires. Not that we sell all our belongings and move to Africa. I think it is these small acts of obedience that ultimately lead us to the "bigger" choices in life. From my experience, I have discovered it is nearly impossible to invest time with God and simultaneously remain unconcerned about the issues which break His heart. So, I have one last question - How will you respond?