Philipose Vaidyar
Where are the Neediest People?
They are in the cities;
some say, due to rapid urbanization and migration to cities is on the rise and
the mainstream population will be in cities in a few years, they believe. They
are in hi-tech jobs and in the multinational software field; that’s what the big
industry is. They are in world markets; that’s where the business and the
outsourcing are. They are in IT; that’s how the world is moving today…” The
analysis goes on.
Most of the mass media
messages today including Christian TV, are formatted for the upper-middle
class. They are believed to be the opinion-makers and movers of society. It’s
only a partial truth.
The builders of the
nation are not just managers and professionals. Every individual, community, and people group (ethnic, linguistic, social, economic, and professional groups are
important and they have a role to play in society and possess a place in God’s
kingdom. But most often many are ignored
or neglected. We need to acknowledge and identify every people and the people
who are needy in different respects whether urban or rural.
Take for example
urbanization. People move from villages to cities. The affluent use their brain
to earn and build their citadels in posh environments while the poor and the
uneducated use their muscle power to win their bread and weave their dreams
under tin roofs and plastic sheets. If the population grows and moves to
cities, the number and size of slums also will swell. The information-rich
continue to become richer while the information-poor continue to live in
perpetual poverty and struggle to live just for a day. The rich in India
survive because of the poor, in all respects. In a country like India, the rich
and poor live together in the same geographical area, especially in the cities.
Before we can think of reaching them, before we formulate messages for them, we
need to understand different layers of society- the powerful and the marginal.
One easy indicator for
this is to look at them from the perspective of their basic lifestyle- where
they live, what they eat, what they wear, how they communicate, and transport.
Where do they
live?
What do they
wear?
What do they eat and
where do they eat?
How do they ‘convey’
and use conveyance?
When we assess their status we also need to think about the individuals who lead them.
WHO ARE THE LEADERS?
Who are the leaders of
my People?
The leaders of my people
are powerful. Money and media have replaced muscles. Information and media-rich
are powerful. They lead people for they can manipulate information. They are
dealers rather than leaders. Instead of helping their fold, they are helped,
instead of serving the needy, they are served. They thrive and prosper at the
cost of their followers. They boast that they do not own anything in this
world. But they live in the air, meet in five-stars, and once they land they
move only by costliest vehicles to meet their crowd. Since they are not
news-makers they buy channels to make sure they will be on the mini-screen. Let
the land be swept by Tsunami or shudder by the quake, it means an opportunity
for them to serve and come into the limelight. The poor, vulnerable, underprivileged,
and unreached are essential for their sustenance.
Several social sector
sponsorship programs in the name of the poor are deceptions. The slogans of
justice and sustainability of the poor are on paper and on digital media.
Not even 2% of the sponsorship reaches the sponsored children directly in kind!!
Heavy thick management
survives and serves them; stay on the leadership to the maximum to get
fattened. The rest goes for publicity, mobilization, and managing systems and
procedures. More people work on systems, tools, information processes, internet
and intranet, designing, monitoring, and evaluation than on the field where the
poor and needy are!
The disparity and
injustice within their organization are Himalayan!
Can you imagine, that a CEO
of a certain social organization draws INR 8,25,000 per month, then an array of Senior Directors, Group Directors, senior managers in the leadership
alone, and all their support staff while a new staff in the field gets INR
15,000 to 20,000 per month?! The staff with 10 years of experience used to get INR.40,000 per month and with the re-recruitments process, being given a pay of 15,000 to 20,000.
A sponsored child (all the children) used to
get a one-time benefit of Rs.300 or 400 a year, but because of recent
regulations, that is still being cut down. Field staff who do the heavy work
are heavily reduced, jobs combined and salary reduced whereas there is only an increase in positions in the leadership. A couple of years ago, according to
one of the auditors, the organization reduced 50 field staff to take care of
the promotion of 5 directors to the level of senior directors.
We would pay a heavy
price for this in the years to come!
The leaders of today are
not very different from those of a few thousand years ago.
The leaders of Israel
are rebuked by the Lord and He still rebukes. The message is still relevant
today. Ezekiel, the prophet of Israel was urged by God to speak against them.
The Word of God comes against the leaders who feed on their sheep. Let those
who have an ear, let him hear!
This is seen in Ezekiel 34:1-16 and ff
1 And the Word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, So says the Lord Jehovah to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you kill the fat ones, but you do not feed the flock.
4 You have not made the weak strong, nor have you healed the sick, nor have you bound up the broken. You have not brought again those driven away, nor have you sought that which was lost; but you have ruled them with force and with cruelty.
5 And they were scattered for lack of a shepherd. And they became food to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered.
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill. Yea, My flock was scattered on all the face of the earth, and none searched nor sought for them.
People live in the hills and mountains. As invaders came in, the natives who could not resist them or did not subject to the oppressive caste system forced upon them fled to the interior hills. These are the tribals of today. (North-Eastern tribes are exceptions). Those who were willing to submit to them by receiving menial jobs and status in society became the scheduled castes. This is history and the story repeats in new formats and with new implications. In urban cities today, the weak and the poor find their solace in slums. The powerful continue to lead, oppress, manipulate, kill and make the weak their food.
The prophecy continues…
7 Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah:
8 As I live, says the Lord Jehovah, surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock.
9 Therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah.
10 So says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock. or shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouth, and they will not be food to devour.
11 For so says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the lands, and will bring them to their own land and feed them on the mountain of Israel by the rivers, and in all the places of the land where people live.
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture, they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.
15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord Jehovah.
16 I will seek the lost, and bring again those driven away, and will bind up the broken, and will strengthen the sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
The master shepherd, the son of God, came to this world to seek the lost and save the perishing. He heals and saves, delivers, restores, sustains, and satisfies. But today, many leaders are far away from the lifestyle of the master. Neither they are available for the needy, nor they are reachable for the lost; not affordable for the poor. They live and lead for themselves. They manipulate information; exchange it to mobilize resources for their benefit in the name of the poor and vulnerable. They hide in their luxuries and want to reach the lost through mass media. The lion's portion goes for the management of sustenance of the leadership.
In the name of healing and salvation, they build their kingdoms on this earth and promote themselves and their products. Their strategies are to please those who support them. They look at the people only through defined ‘windows’. They want to ‘bless the nation’ by casting a national vision for the coming decades. They think they can ‘disciple a whole nation’ and ‘build’ them up. They are willing to network with others who fall into their wavelength. They recruit more personnel for different layers to have higher profiles and promotions for themselves. Whatever be the work, people are considered human resources and manage them as resources and with economic principles. The structure and restructure the organization and make new definitions to save their positions and suppress the lover caders and grass-root employees. The Word of God is against such leaders; the judgment of God is coming upon them. God hands them over to wickedness that they never repent unless they are fallen caught red-handed.
That’s how Jesus saw the people and their leaders.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to the disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” [Matthew 9:36-38] And then he called his disciples and sent them.
He asks us: “…. do you love me?”
If ‘yes Lord’ is the answer, His response is “Feed my sheep”
He still asks us: “…do you love me more than these?”
If ‘yes Lord’ is the answer, His response is “Take care of my sheep”
How do we take care of our people???
Pictures from personal files are used only for illustrations
