Telling the Truth

I am the "editor" of the monthly newsletter for our local Emmaus community. For this month's newsletter, a guest writer, at my request, submitted a testimonial concerning sponsorship. He spoke about how sponsorship has been a blessing, but he also shared the idea that it is a responsibility.

I like this approach. I think it's important to explain to people how their "yes" to a question is a commitment -- and what is involved in that commitment. Too often, I think, we "sugar coat" requests in the hope that we will be more likely to hear "yes" to the "will you...?" question.

As I thought about that today, I became convinced that an honest assessment and description of the responsibilities of a commitment is what people are searching for. I think we sell people short; we underestimate their desire to make a real and lasting contribution to causes and calls that are close to their hearts. Why do we avoid telling people how important their contributions can be? Why do we assume they don't want to work or to have responsibility? Why do we try to "save them" from the joy of real work for the kingdom of God?

And then I ran across this post on a blog called United Methodeviations. I can't explain how much I resent some of the attitudes expressed by the ministers in this post. Go read it and see what you think.