Iron on iron

“It takes a grinding wheel to sharpen a blade, and so one person sharpens the character of another.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭27‬:‭17‬ ‭TPT‬‬

I have a strong personality when it comes to defending the defensless and making a way for them out of poverty. In my work with the Pakistani refugees I am fighting for their good. However, my opinion on a matter is not the only one. I see the situation close to the refugee, I feel their pain, but God sees where they have been, how they have managed what He has given them. 

I am an advocate in a group called EDC (empowering displaced communities). I have to bang on doors for the refugees. I am good at banging on doors, however, not all doors open with provision, some with a question, some with advice. I am allowing this process to mould me into the person God wants me to be. He has a future task for me which requires me to learn my lessons well in this phase. It is not easy when a family has no food but what is the best solution?

Nepal has many professional beggars. They are not necessarily on the street, they are in flats with meagre possessions but they are safe from the rains that are about to fall. I was caught with a man who was providing a home for children who needed an education. At first I thought the children were orphans but most were not. There was one girl and boy who belonged to the man’s wife’s sister, who actually lived near to them. This woman had seen an opportunity to be free to earn money apart from her children. As a mother I found this baffling as I could not give up my children like this. 

Each day when the children needed breakfast this man would supervise and then he would retire to his bedroom and spend the day on his bed with his phone. This is not what I imagined I was funding. I turned off the tap.

If money comes in too easily we make the recipients lazy and unwilling to find work that would provide for the family and earn the man a good reputation. God knows who these people are, we westerners do not always know. Driven by guilt we part with funds too easily without becoming involved in the big picture.

It is good to give money but better to be a breathing part of the solution. This is where others come in, especially if those others have had experience we do not have. I prefer to employ or to find employment for refugees. This requires me to become very active and involved. This is a real solution! Amen!