So during Idol, I was going over what Henry was saying on the very issues before my eyes on Idol. It was like Henry was whispering in my ear . . . or something like that.

Man it’s good to see you on P&P.

I agree that it is great to see people, Chriatian or not, pick up the call to “love their neighbor” and give tangible expressions of that in monetary contributions. However, every organization that involves itself in the work of helping in whatever causes does so with certain principles and presuppositions. The Christian’s understanding of justice and love, of benevolence and mercy, of service and giving, is bound up in the character of God, in the revealed truths of Scripture, and in the person and work of Jesus Christ. As Christians, the message we should be bringing to those dying of AIDS for example is not just we can offer medical aid to prevent premature death, but present to them the One who overcame death through his death and resurrection. We should also, for example, not just go to people with diseases such as malaria and offer them cures which only will benefit their body, but offer them the cure for the diease of sin as Christ is the Great Physician.

Such caring for the soul as well as the body is something non-Christians cannot offer. Furthermore, the framework of beliefs/principles in which they practice their work is fundamentally on non-redemptive grounds. For those who cannot offer anything for the life to come, they can only hope for their “best life now.” But suffering or not, the Christian can tell people there is life after death and (a certain) hope beyond the grave where sin has been defeated and where justice and righteousness reigns.

Anyway, that’s just some of what I’ve been thinking. Due to the fact that we are all created in the image of God and that common grace is extended to all men regardless of whether they are believers is an important reminder that “good” work can be done in that sense. I will say, however, when you mention that when a good thing is being done, a sermon does not need to be attached to it, it is a little misleading, don’t you think? For in the very doing of that good work, you are proclaiming something to that person. You are in a sense preaching a sermon. Yet that implicit message ought to be made explicit through the communication of what and why that good deed is being done. Some will say, “This is given for you on behalf of the good people who watch American Idol.” Others will say, “This is given you on behalf of ___________” (insert celebrity name). So there’s a sermon in any case. For the Christian, however, the sermon says, “This is give for you on behalf of Jesus Christ who can not only satisfy your body but your souls as well.”

Make sense?