From The Independent: People of the same religious faith will help each other more, but religious people are no more unselfish than non-believers
In other words, we don’t get it, do we? The call to love God and love neighbour is talked and preached about, but not substantially practised. The call to mission is not heeded, because we spend our time with our own folk.
It’s frightening, isn’t it?
Big Circumstance 
Here’s an extract of a poem which appeared in our local paper today.
A tribute to the firefighters by Wayne Motbey
At the rolling of the big red trucks the children watch in awe
There are strangers and their loved ones going off to war,
but it’s not to fight the human race and it is not to shoot to kill,
it is to go and stop those ghastly flames roaring up the farther hill.
The volunteers are many from far spread country towns,
And I tell you what! They’re ready when their feet hit the ground.
There’s Tony Clerk and postman Ralph and the logger
From down south, there’s Lady Jane who drives a train
and the auctioneer with a mouth
There’s old folk and there is young folk wearing the same attire
Those famous orange suits that shields them from the fire
The risks they take are huge for the dangers are immense
and the sweat they lose is more for the heat is intense
They battle the giant flames in 40 plus degrees and their lungs they suffer bad
from the smoke they are forced to breathe.
Yes it’s horrid tough conditions but still they stand up tall
Creating a back burn to ease the fire’s roar.
Cheers volunteers.
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I thought the same when I read this survey. It is mostly human nature: we love ‘warmth’ rather than ‘cold’ & I think Jesus kept saying you are warm beyond measure…now come and meet me in the ‘cold’. But then again- we ministers can preach about this over and over again, run courses on it etc….and anyone looking at us for any length of time realises that we spend a disproportionate amount of time with only church people. Some of it is because of the job but I am coming to think that a lot of it is because it is easier that way…
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Is cooperating to “win small cash pay outs” a measure of charity/helping each other? Sounds more like business to me. Mind you, I think you’re right about human nature and how easy it is to spend more time with those like us than others.
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Well our Church is reaching out into the Neighborhood and so are lots of Churches.As to being with only Church Friends thats the only Friends I have made have been inChurch not at work or School
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