Last October, I read a news report that brought me to my knees. It was about a teenager in rural Africa who was too poor to attend school, so he taught himself to read. He got his hands on a book about generating electricity. Then, with no resources, no funding, no training, he built crude windmills, bringing electricity to his village of 80 people for the first time. I was deeply humbled and left asking the question, “What have I done lately?” I’ve helped people before, but never in such a life changing way. Compared to this young man my past efforts were miniscule. As I cried out to God, I wrote down my thoughts. Song lyrics emerged. I don’t know if the lyrics will touch your heart, but they have transformed mine. That is why I want to go to South Africa.
WHAT HAVE WE DONE
There aren’t too many people here who even know what its like
To be so hungry it hurts, the gut wrenching pain of blight
To go without a meal or worry where the next one will come from
But there are millions who depend on crops, rain, kindness of someone
As we stagger to our kitchens to gorge ourselves again
Late night snacks of junk food, watching Letterman
Or a DVD that cost millions to be made in Hollywood
There are those with no kitchen, no power, and no food,
As we stumble off to bed, overstuffed and overfed
There are those with no home let alone a place to lay their head
What have we done lately
To help our fellow man
To clothe and feed the hungry
Reach widows and orphans
To be the hands of Jesus
To be known by our love
What have we done lately
What have we done
As we organize our closets into showrooms for our wealth
Spend millions at desert spas to rejuvenate our health
And worry about the fashions of designers gone mad
With starlets whose money and fame drive the latest fads
There are those who hope to have just one pair of shoes to wear
That the shirt on their back will ward off the cold another year
Who scrounge for sackcloth to wrap their baby in
It seems that our gluttony has become a grave sin
We worry about global warming, mother earth, and going green
But our hearts are cold, ears deaf, our eyes have not seen
As our students drive to school in BMW’s dressed to kill
And text and tweet instead of learning, or living a life that will
Help anyone but themselves, there are many in the world who
Will walk mile after mile to get to a little school
Who have to beg and borrow to have shoes, uniforms, and books
Who care more for their future than the way they look
Who sacrifice and go without to better their family
Millions upon millions who haven’t been taught to read
Where their very existence rests on having fresh water to drink
What are we doing, we need to stop and think
(bridge)
We are fat, we are sassy, and we don’t seem to care
We are ignorant and lazy, sitting on our derriere
We are entirely selfish as we indulge our latest whim,
Get new toys to keep us busy so we can’t feel anything
What have I done lately
To help my fellow man
To clothe and feed the hungry
Reach widows and orphans
To be the hands of Jesus
To be known by my love
What have I done lately
What have I done
