The devil mocks the Church … roaring over the 50 million people he is devouring by way of AIDS. He gloats over the 143 million orphans and stands atop a mountain of 33,000 children each day who will die from preventable issues like malaria and malnutrition.

Satan knows that if the Church took poverty as seriously as we take abortion, we could wipe it out in a generation. The issue isn’t whether or not we can do it, but rather if we have the will to act. 

I urge you to consider three key realities:

There is no neutral ground.
You might think what is happening to Africa is somehow part of God’s will. I submit to you that this viewpoint is complete heresy. C.S. Lewis wrote, “There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan.” What God claims, He claims for good and love. What Satan counter-claims comes with lying, death, suffering and apathy. AIDS is Satan’s most clever tool of destruction. He unleashes a disease that is spread mostly through drug use and sexual contact in a place where millions will die, while the Church argues whether or not AIDS is a lifestyle issue. 

There is no Plan B.
God decided that the agents of His “claiming” the universe would be His followers. He doesn’t have a Plan B. Through the ministry of Jesus, we are taught that what really matters is the degree of love and compassion we share with the world. God did not call us as judges. Instead, He called us as reconcilers and healers. We must practice a radical and redemptive love for the least of these.