Thou Shall Not Kill

According to the United Nations Human Development Index of 177 nations in the world, Mali ranks as 173rd. Burkina Faso is the 176th. Niger is 174th. The poorest of the poor are right here, and most poignantly so, in the rural areas where Lutheran World Relief works. Decades ago, some wise Lutherans decided to focus their resources where human pain cried out the sharpest: the groans of death, even. These Lutherans knew their Catechism: “God rightly calls all persons murderers who do not offer counsel or assistance to those in need and peril of body or life.” I am thankful for their faith-activated decision to keep the Fifth Commandment and to do something, to enact justice.

Confronted with the magnitude of suffering in the world, many people begin to feel numb and powerless. They do nothing. Yet each one of us has a role to play in creating a better world. In the face of such suffering we must stand together, empowered by God’s unconditional love in Jesus Christ, attesting to the power of one mother, one family, one community–their power to change their future, to pull themselves out of poverty. Walk with us, work with us, find your role, and together we can make a difference.