I’ve often derided Lawrence, Massachusetts as a pit of a city — and it is. But that doesn’t mean that it’s utterly irredeemable, that absolutely everything about the city and every one who lives there is horrid. It is a desperately poor community, beset with corruption, drugs, gangs, and scads of the other tribulations of modern city.
But there are times and stories about Lawrence that remind me that as bad as it gets sometimes, it would not be a good thing to completely write the city off.
As I said, Lawrence is a very poor community. But last fall, some of her humbler citizens did what they could for others in their time of need.
When Hurricane Katrina hit, the Lawrence Church of Christ raised money for relief. They scraped up $500.00 and sent it off to Churches Of Christ Disaster Relief Inc. of Nashville, Tennessee.
Lawrence was pretty badly hit by the recent New England floods. And word of the city’s plight has spread around the nation — including Nashville, Tennessee. And Churches of Christ Disaster Relief put together a tractor trailer of vitally-needed supplies and sent it north. Officials say the goods, roughly valued at over $81,000, will be given away to anyone who asks at the Church.
For that $500 investment last fall, the Church parlayed it into a 16,100% return (if I did the math right). That makes Hillary Clinton, with her maiden venture into the cattle futures market, when the parlayed $1,000 into $100,000, look like a rank piker.
You know what they say “What goes around comes around” In this case it is true. This is a good news story that will never be reported in the MSM.
also known as “casting bread upon the waters.”
In this case, literally.
I thought the article on “CheapStates” back in ’04 was curious…
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1222/p15s01-ussc.html
– MikeB
With my incorrigible tendency to think the best of folks (even ones from Massachusetts), while I don’t doubt that they’re grateful for the assistance, I do doubt that that’s what they had in mind at the time they made their donations.
And I also doubt that many of them are considering the ~16,000% return on their investment these days.
This tends to make the Law of Tenfold look like a cheap deal.
But the people of Lawrence would have been better off if we had higher federal taxes and let FEMA handle the disaster relief.
</snark>
Of course, the good folks at this church aren’t thinking of a “parlay,” either when they sent their contributions, or when they received help from others.
It’s probably really tough for the atheists here to understand, but Christians give what they can to the needy, even if it hurts, and have faith they will, in turn, be provided for in need.
The gifts are not, however, predicated on any such calculation. They are given in faith and with love, and no preconditions or expectations.
It’s a different sort of approach – one that has managed to get its practitioners reviled, persecuted, and killed throughout the ages, so it isn’t to be recommended for just anyone.