Stewarding our Influence

A few weeks ago at church, I walked away from the sermon stewing on our partnership in India. One of the applications I felt God impressing on me was how are we "stewarding and being responsible with the influence God has given us." Our pastor challenged us to consider that everyone has a certain influence over a certain area, and its given to us BY God and FOR God. It's not for us, it's for HIM.

A lot of times when I hear people talk about "influence", I think... well, that's reserved for the big leaders, or the mouthpieces... authors, pastors, CEOs, non-profits. But something God's been zeroing in on in my heart over the last year is I am responsible for my own actions before Him. No matter how small of a life I lead. Galatians 6:4-5 says, "Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct."

So when I hear "influence" now... I'm thinking "what small influence do I have that God wants to speak into?" And it hit me: My sponsor child!

How am I stewarding the influence God has given me with my sponsor child? How am I being responsible with the influence God has given me with Roshan?

Sponsor Robin Inks with her precious Shobha!

I'm not responsible for whether or not our Unlikely group of sponsors serves all the children well. I am accountable before God for how I serve Roshan. We are each responsible for how we speak into the lives of Akash, and Himanshu, and Sumit, and Ravi, and sweet Priyanka...

God has given each one of us a tiny little bit of influence in the lives of our sponsor kids. And it's FOR Him. I pray He shows all of us how to steward that influence well.

Slumdog, the Book

One of our sponsors, Erin Housewright, recently loaned me the Slumdog Millionaire audio book. She warned me "its nothing like the movie... but its good... and hard." I'm about 2 discs in, and she's right. It is rough. But the hardest part about hearing stories about India like Slumdog is that I know that even though it's "fiction", it bears a painful resemblance to the reality I actually see over there. The corruption, the suffering, the injustice... I have heard these tales over & over again from our friends, and they are living it.

Spoiler Alert: Last week, the Slumdog story turned dark when the main character (a young teen) began to overhear his neighbor start sexually abusing his young daughter. He was desperate to intervene. Desperate to stop the father. He ran to the landlord and pleaded for him to go and stop the "bad things" that were happening in the room next to him. But the landlord's response to him was-- "We do not stick our nose in other people's business. It's not our place to defend the girl. Her father can do as he wishes." The young teen boy is so frustrated, so panicked. He cannot understand the ways of this world. When evil is happening, he wants to speak up, he wants to scream "injustice!"

This reminded me of a Scripture memory card I have posted above my office workspace. "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor & helpless & see that they get justice." (Proverbs 31:8-9)

The number of injustices happening in this world are legion. In India alone, it seems countless. But you & I-- together-- we are speaking up, we are ensuring. When the poor are so poor that their government overlooks them, society dismisses them, and other classes crush them, WE are standing up. Aunty is standing up. The staff at the Good Samaritan School are standing up. They are saying to these poor children: "You will not be crushed on our watch!" It is a very brave thing what this school is doing... to speak value and love into the lives of its students when all of society around says "who cares" and "it's not our business to meddle in the affairs of the poor".

Our partnership with the Good Samaritan School and our advocacy for the students is a good thing. Its a God thing. God has brought your sponsor child into your life so that you can encourage and support him. You can "speak up" on his behalf. You can tell his country, his neighborhood, even his own family, I want something better for this child! And I won't rest until we achieve it, together.

Thank you for "speaking up" through your actions and your partnership!