I live a comfortable suburban life. And sometimes, when I see a news report on suffering in Uganda or when I pass by a homeless person downtown, I feel really guilty about my comfortable life. Doug Hayes, the head of Covenant Mercies (a “non-profit organization established for the purpose of serving the poor, the orphan, the widow, and others facing severe adversity”), says I shouldn’t feel guilty. I should feel motivated to act.
Those of us who live in suburbia can sometimes feel a pang of guilt for the comfortable lives we lead in comparison to the world’s poor. While I wouldn’t want to douse any legitimate conviction of the Holy Spirit, I don’t believe the Lord wants us be motivated by guilt. Could God be calling some of us to forsake the suburban lifestyle and “incarnate” with the poor, taking up residence with those who are marginalized in our world? Absolutely. Is he calling all of us to do that? Probably not. The great majority of believers who live in suburbia are called to remain right where they are, but to develop a compassion permanence that leads us to remember the poor even though they are not immediately before our eyes day after day.
He has three ways to replace suburban guilt with Christ-like action. Read them here.