The 5 Safeguards You Can Take Against Becoming Heartless

“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause" (Isaiah 1:17 ESV).

Did you catch the five magical verbs in those 17 words? We’re told to ‘learn, seek, correct, bring’ and ‘plead’. But why? And who is the beneficiary?

My life’s work has been spent with the ‘less’ in society: the ‘state-less’, the ‘human rights-less’, the ‘father-less’, the ‘husband-less’, the ‘sight-less’, and more. Why do we do this? Because it’s the right thing to do, because we should obey, and because of love.

It is my contention that we’re often blind to who God’s intended beneficiary is. Unquestionably, He cares for those we see all around us with ‘less’. But what we’re blind to is that we are in that group also - due to being ‘heart-less’!

Taking action puts us in contact with lovely souls like Asyha, who is a Form 6 student and helps turn our hearts. She recently shared:

"When I was about 3 years old, my family came to Hong Kong for safety from Pakistan. Only upon our arrival did we understand the limited rights we could enjoy in this city. The family faced significant challenges before reaching out to the Centre of Refugees (CFR) for help. We are so grateful to everyone at CFR who has taken care of all our needs. I regard Hong Kong as my home, and I adore living here; I have never experienced discrimination, and the acceptance of my true self brings me joy.”

Asyha hopes to study and become a doctor or an engineer. Regrettably, Hong Kong prohibits those with temporary identification documents like her from working or enrolling in professional courses. We encouraged her to acquire skills such as computer and hardware courses, which will be beneficial when she eventually relocates to another country.

Asyha’s hope and gratitude, in the face of so many obstacles, is the kind of thing that inspires the CFR team and CA to rally around the annual World Refugee Day.

On June 23, I joined the Chairman of Christian Action, Mr. Julian Walsh, and my colleagues from the Centre of Refugees (CFR) to welcome our supporters from churches, corporations, and NGOs who shared the same heart as ours in walking with our clients at St. Andrew’s Church. This year's theme centers on solidarity with refugees and I reminded our guests that solidarity means keeping our doors open, celebrating strengths and achievements, reflecting on the challenges that the refugees faced, and highlighting the positive contributions that they bring.

After the presentation, we listened to testimonies from our service users who had overcome adversity and then celebrated with drumming, hip-hop rappers, swing dancers, a vibrant ethnic fashion show modeled by our clients, and a joyful Bollywood dance!

I am so very thankful for how our entire CFR team lives out the verbs in Isaiah 1:17 with such richness of heart. Among their many programs is one that works with 125 refugee primary and secondary school children like Asyha. Please take action to help by clicking here: https://www.cfr.org.hk/support-us

Siew Mei