The Chicken Soup Book series noted the old man walking the beach. The tide had gone out stranding zillions of starfish. They would die before the tide returned. The old man walked the beach, bent over, picked up a starfish, and threw it out into the sea.
He repeated this occasionally as he walked.
A young boy asked: "Hey mister, whatcha doing?"
He explained he was saving the starfish.
The boy looked around the beach at the sheer numbers of starfish soon to expire and proclaimed "It doesn't matter".
The old man looked at the starfish in his hand, then at the boy.
As he tossed the starfish in his hand, out to living waters, he told the boy:
"It matters to THIS one!".

There is NO disconnect as suspected above. The problems that surmount us are so great, that we do what we can, when we can, where we can, how we can. Just like Christ, who notably did not miraculously cure every ailing person he met. Nor was THAT considered a disconnect to what HE said, and what He did.

I find this trend is disturbing at many levels because of what I've seen it do to Christianity. People see absolutely no disconnect between getting drunk and having illicit sex on Saturday and going to church and raising their hands in worship the morning after (I know volunteers at my church that have done this). This really scares me because the message it sends to non-believers is this: "believe in Jesus, he's kind and caring and will get you into heaven…and don't worry, he won't change anything about your life. You'll still get to have all your wild fun." It's not that people have to clean up to come to Jesus but hopefully if their faith is sincere, their will be some changes in lifestyle.

i was really interested in the bigger question. are more people talking (through social networking) but not actually doing? i don't think that's just a "christian" issue either…though we should hopefully be people who put action to our words.

tony

A friend in Amsterdam asked me to escort Elizabeth Rapuleng of South Africa to NYC Foundations to help Aids orphans (she has over 500 alone -see Google). I lived in Bethlehem at the time. and we met Soros and Clinton Foundation types, and the rest (well attempted).. Miserly was a response, in the same week $10 million was spent for Hollywood movies by one foundation. Elizabeth fell in love with Jim Cymbala's church. Perhaps I am touchy due to experience on philanthropy.

We need to applaud the younger generation in every attempt they make to become like Christ. That respect leads to a Christ-countenance in youth, that becomes self-fulfilling.

In your "strategic", please check out and consider, http://www.heifer.org
I find them among the best bang for the buck.
Give Anne a hug and a "Merry Christmas" from a sranger, …. me.
Prayers on her behalf, and yours, are included abundantly.

Hello Pat Rowland !
We are called upon to edify and build up.
The bullets above do nothing of the sort for the newest generation of saints to be. Are the queries fair? Yes. It is a cup half full/ half empty dilemma.
I am grateful to those who gave, …….. words or money.

Strategic giving sounds like a good way to learn "NO" when asked by the multitudes to perform miracles for them. It works until my neighbor's house burns down, or my cousin gets cancer. Bye strategy.

It is easy to become a little numb to the continual appeals and get a bit of giving fatigue. Holy Spirit directed giving of God's resources from hearts of generosity is the goal.