<p>They are called Dude Perfect - six guys from Texas who started videoing crazy impossible basketball shots from their backyard, which went viral on YouTube. It got so big they began to make money off advertisements. They've now made shots from the top of a stadium and out of an airplane! What started off as a simple lunch bet became an Internet phenomenon. But more than that, they've used their skills for good. For every 100,000 views, they give advertisement proceeds to sponsor a Compassion child who lacks daily necessities for life.</p> <p>Another place found "Compassion that is Crazy" is within our college students. Recently, they were challenged to sponsor a Compassion Child for one year. That's $38 a month for a year. They responded not to one child's needs but to four, as they are committing to give $152 a month to meet the needs of "the least of these." Pretty crazy for a group of students have little to no income. </p> <p>Maybe you can't make a shot from a moving airplane (maybe you can, but don't try it!). But you can use your talents, resources, and social network to spread a love for the poor. Start where you are. Mother Teresa said, "If you can't feed a hundred then just feed one."</p> <p>Read Deuteronomy 15:11. Moses said, "You will always have the poor with you" but a few verses earlier he said, "There shall be no poor among you" (v.4). So which one is it Moses? God's Word is saying there would be no needy among them <i>IF </i>all of Israel obeyed God's commands to be generous. </p> <p>Professing to have faith in God without possessing a generous life toward the poor is not the kind of faith God required. God calls us to be generous and open handed with all our stuff while always having the less fortunate on our radar. Some might wonder, "How can an ordinary person like me give to the poor?" Often we only think of the poor as the homeless guy downtown that begs for money. The poor among you includes that guy, but there are many other kinds of poor. Some are poor financially, but many around you are poor in friendship, education, health, and most of all, poor in the sense that they lack a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is no excuse to neglect the literal poor but to expand our view of poverty around us. Many think, "I do not have enough to help someone" which usually means, 'I don't have enough to help someone and <i>still</i> have enough for what I want." Helping the poor requires sacrifice and carrying burdens. What can you give up and sacrifice in order to serve "the least of these?" How can you be a change agent to get others involved? </p> <div><em>--Brian Fulton</em></div> <p>]]</p>