Missionary Work Needed in America

My soul is disturbed after having seen the movie, “Precious.”
It is disturbed for a couple of reasons. One, because it was real. I sobbed after seeing the movie because I know so many people, so many children, live like that. Mothers have babies and then in essence destroy their lives; they do so because they are destroyed themselves. Those who have not known love cannot give love, and it is a fact that too many children in our community do not receive love. They are told they are worthless; they are blamed for everything wrong, and then society wonders why they act out. Too many young girls in OUR community are being sexually molested by fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and mothers’ boyfriends, and having their babies. The cycle of despair just keeps spinning … That thought, that reality, hit me squarely between the eyes. The blessing for movie character Precious was that she had a teacher who cared. Someone cared. One person taking the time to care can change a person’s life. That is not an opinion; it is a fact. Precious, in that regard, was lucky in spite of all she endured.
The other reason my soul is disturbed is because “Precious” will probably win a slew of awards, which is good, but it seems that movies with African Americans win critical acclaim only when they depict African American life the way most white people think most African Americans live. Denzel Washington, an amazing actor who has done amazing work, won critical acclaim for “Training Day.” While I was proud, I wondered why he hadn’t won that kind of recognition for his depiction of Malcolm X? It seems that America is still caught in the need to nestle in the bosom of stereotypes or fantasy about African Americans.
I am bothered still by another fact. There is so much mission work to do on these shores. People go gallivanting off to Africa and India and Honduras, where there is despair, for sure, but there is plenty of despair in these United States. Somehow, Americans have glamorized, or made more acceptable, the suffering “over there,” while ignoring the suffering, pain and despair that runs rampant within our own boundaries. There are people here who need Christian love. Jesus’ compassion works as well here as it does in a forlorn village in Africa. We somehow demonize those who suffer here; we blame them for their situations, if not openly then certainly surreptitiously. The myth is that anyone who wants to do well here can, and while it might be easier here to “succeed” than it is in other countries, it is not a given. There are scores of horribly poor people here who cannot get out of their poverty, aided by a capitalistic system which specializes in keeping poor people poor, but using those same poor people to maximize their profits. There are scores of working poor who are working their fingers to the bone without any possibility of climbing out of their holes of financial despair. Prosperity gospel notwithstanding, the playing field is not even in this country, and poor people are suffering big time here. There are lots of children who, like Precious, are caught in a culture of despair aided and abetted by our economic system.
My mind goes to what we as a church do to address and alleviate the suffering, to provide help to children who, like Precious, need to know that someone cares. What ministries can we do to help? Remember, it was education that helped Precious. It was a teacher who took time to talk to her, and listen to her, and help her to know that she had abilities, that she was special, and that she was worthy to be loved.
That seems to me to be the most basic “missionary” work a Christian can do. And it seems that the more we address and alleviate suffering on our shores, the more foot soldiers we will have to send to other parts of the world. We really cannot sufficiently help the world until we help ourselves. If our children are suffering, we are not equipped to help the children in other parts of the world. We have to put our own oxygen masks on before we try to get the oxygen masks on others.
I doubt that I will read the book “Sapphire,” on which the movie “Precious” is based. Too hard to become a co-partner in that kind of suffering on that level. But I am praying for us as a church to have “mission” work flourish in 2010, working with the children in our community in ways that will help give them hope.
It has to be that we recognize what we can do to help “the least of these” who live amongst us.
Happy New Year! Let’s get this party started!