“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” — James 1:22
(NIV)

Sometimes the truth is inconvenient. That’s why Al Gore coined the phrase to title his book and movie about the possible perils of climate change. Truth is inconvenient when it challenges our deeply held beliefs and our ingrained behaviours. Truth is inconvenient when it forces us out of our comfort zones. Sometimes it’s much easier not to know the truth.

It is convenient to believe that most children are happy, well-fed and loved in our world. It is inconvenient to learn that nearly 27,000 children under age five die tragically every day of easily preventable causes.

It is convenient to believe that AIDS is a disease that only affects the promiscuous. It is inconvenient to learn that 15 million children have been orphaned by AIDS and that 2.7 million children are HIV-positive because their mothers passed it to them through childbirth or breastfeeding.

Since coming to World Vision 10 years ago, these inconvenient truths have challenged me personally on almost a daily basis. I now think twice about ordering a Coke with dinner when I remember that just one dollar can bring clean water to a child for one year. When my daughter wants a new dress for the school dance, I think of seven-year-old Maggie in Zambia, who had only one dress and no shoes at all. When my cable bill comes, I realise that I could sponsor two more children with the money my family spends on TV.

In Scripture I find some inconvenient verses:

• “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)

• “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (1 John 3:17)

• “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” (Matthew 25:45)

• “Religion that God our father considers to be pure and faultless is this; to look after widows and orphans in their distress …” (James 1:27)

I don’t believe that we should live with constant guilt. Jesus himself attended weddings, enjoyed feasts, and even dined with the wealthy—he celebrated the good things God provided. Yet we never doubt his compassion for “the least of these.” Jesus never turned away from inconvenient truths—he did something to change them. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and comforted the afflicted. Jesus cared. He only asks that we do the same.