Co-Worker Letter – December 16, 1984

It is Sunday morning. I was especially impressed by two TV programs this morning. One showed a television evangelist in a camp of emaciated, starving and dying children and adults in Ethiopia. The evangelist and a doctor were working over dying people. Victims were dying almost by the minute. Many were without any clothing. The doctor was telling of the need for blankets to spread over the starving people. It was a sickening, revolting scene, almost turning the viewers’ stomachs inside out. The purpose was an emotional appeal for donations.

The other TV program also began with pictures of starving children, living in many parts of Asia and Africa, illiterate, living in abject poverty, filth and squalor. But then the program switched to the rich countries, civilized, educated, with large middle classes. But there it showed spiritual sickness, starvation and depravity, victims of excess alcohol, drugs, illicit sex and rampant crime and violence. It explained the CAUSE of all this physical and moral and spiritual sickness and the universal unhappiness and hopelessness in SATAN’S world.

It was all caused by THE WAY humanity has been living these 6,000 years since Adam’s creation.

The program first mentioned above sought to deal with the effect. Just physically feeding the illiterate, poor and hungry does not eliminate the wretched condition, but rather perpetuates it. As Jesus said, the poor you always have with you. And always will if we do not correct the CAUSE of the evil.

It all started 6,000 years ago with the first created human. Adam chose the tree of taking to himself the knowledge of good and evil. There is good as well as evil in Satan’s world. But the good is only on the human, selfish level. Mother love for her child is GOOD – yet it is selfish, for she does not love other children as her own. Adam rejected reliance on God, and chose reliance on human self. Human self is always selfish, and under Satan’s influence has led to EVIL – evil in poverty and starvation – evils in spiritual relations of people with people. Man cannot discern true good from evil.

All this world’s evil begins when human life begins – with CHILDREN. Influences of the world around them, plus the invisible sway of Satan, causes varying degrees of selfishness and evil to develop as children grow into adults.

Even after Christ comes to remove Satan and to bring in peace, prosperity and happiness, the process will have to begin with children. Children will have to be started out right. Adults will have to be DE-educated – have to UNlearn all the false knowledge, ideas and philosophies they have, before they can be taught the true way toward peace and successful and happy and useful lives. Utopia will not appear suddenly at the appearing of Christ.

The TV program mentioned second above showed the way to peace, happiness and joy does begin with the children. It showed what the Worldwide Church of God is doing for children in the YES lessons, working with parents in teaching children, and in our youth camps around the world. It gave viewers the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) of a happy world of plenty – of peace – of usefulness, happiness and joy and accomplishment in the WORLD TOMORROW. It gave the viewers HOPE for the future.

That was the program YOUR tithes and offerings have been making possible. It was YOU, in this way, proclaiming the true Gospel OF Jesus Christ to the world.

The first described program urged people to contribute half of their Christmas budget to the PHYSICAL need in one impoverished country. I ask you to pray that GOD will supply the financial need of the true Gospel program by prospering you and all fellow Co-workers that this one true Gospel program may continue to expand in this coming year.