Mercy and Truth in the Third World

Actor Stephen Baldwin has criticized the U2 musician Bono, claiming that Bono needs to be preaching the gospel instead of trying to get the nations of this world to help with Third World debt relief.

In ministering to the poor, we need to take care of both practical and spiritual needs. While debt relief is important, it certainly is not as critical as the eternal destination of human souls.

Nor will the reduction of debt through gifts of mercy alone set a nation aright. God has called us to stewardship, and faithful stewardship can only be obtained by following the principles set forth in Scripture.

The trouble that Third World nations find themselves in is, of course, caused by the state of depravity of its citizenry, and thus its government. We in the Western World are beneficiaries of the Christian Reformation and the principles of Scripture set in place generations ago. The West has simply been reaping the harvest of those seeds.

And while many of us in the west are, like those in Third World nations, morally depraved, our system still produces wealth because of the foundation our forefathers laid. The freedoms we enjoy, and our national practices of hard work and personal stewardship, are still reinforced by the remnants of our once-thriving Judeo-Christian culture.

Third World nations, like all nations and all souls, need both Mercy and Truth.

HT: Thinklings Blog