WWBD?
No. That's not what it stands for.
What Would Bush Do?
Uh... nope.
What Would Bono Do?
Yes.
Oh man. So that'll either keep you reading or you are ready to go elsewhere. How many people have grown tired of hearing Bono this, Bono that. Or perhaps you rejoice every time you hear his name.
It's no surprise to hear cynics in Christendom take shots at Bono. He's doing Kingdom work. Most Christians that actually do the works of the Kingdom realize that the attempted placement of obstructions to halt them in their efforts are usually put there by other Christians.
Why?
Same reasons that they pounded viciously after Jesus: Envy, greed, pride, lack of understanding, lack of humility. What's more important is recognizing the way Bono has approached enormous problems in the world. He has taken responsibility of hunger issues, disease issues, poverty issues and he has utilized his gifting to spear head an effort that has forced governments to concede and has rescued thousands if not hundreds of thousands.
Obviously it's not a one man show as there are hundreds that assist and give as Bono does. What I see in his effort is that he is giving what he has. It applies to our daily lives quite relevantly as well. He's not asking permission from the powers that be to do the work of caring for people and being a genuine support in the fight to aid people and give them a chance to live and in a way that is fair and just.
Why is it that we dehumanize people like Moses or Joseph or even Esther. We make them into "great heroes" of the Bible. There is no question that what they did was amazing but they really were just people like you and I. They too were just like Bono is today.
Moses was obedient and despite his admitted faults and limits he freed the Hebrews from hundreds of years of slavery. After all, he did obtain an excellent education from the very people that had enslaved his true people. Who better to do this job of fighting the "Empire" than one who grew up in it?
Joseph was faithful and ultimately saved millions of people from starvation. He was a hard worker who gave his best to those he was "under". While he was unjustly imprisoned he earned favor with the prison guards because he was a diligent worker and he added value to everything that they had him do. So was it just some supernatural ability to read people's dreams that made Joseph a phenomenon or was it his incredible work ethic?
Esther was a quiet woman who literally saved the Jews from extinction. A plan as evil as Hitler's was well under way and Esther's ability to speak her faith out through her lifestyle led her to confront and speak out loud to a king who killed people for interrupting him. Is humility and quietness the gift or the ability to be vocal?
Bono is an artist who has obtained great fame and is now utilizing that fame to extract resources from places of plenty to the places of empty. He doesn't have to do that but he realizes that he can. And not only that but Bono realizes that God is telling him to do just that. This is what carried Moses, Joseph and Esther to and through their responsibilities as well.
We find a rock star speaking at the Congressional Prayer Breakfast where he could have talked about being a poor Irish boy who became successful. Instead he admonishes the beauty of America and not only how we can help but how it is our God given responsibility to do so. And so medical supplies and food have begun to pour into extreme poverty stricken areas around the world.
Do you see how Bono and Moses sit at the same table with you and I. If not you've based the ability to serve God on the scale of worldly success as opposed to His request of you to just do what he asks of you. The response after that is usually: Well what has God asked of me? He has told us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the prisoner, heal the sick, etc... These are doable every day of our lives. They truly are.
With a little bit of coordination, a few phone calls and some emails, myself and a handful of people that I get to "work" with delivered over 80 bags of toiletry items to a Section 8 housing development. (Why toiletries? Because welfare doesn't cover toiletries.) One hour later we fed some 200 homeless people in a public park in downtown Akron with donated home cooked meals.
How?
We don't ask for permission to throw out flotation devices to people who are drowning. We just start throwing things that float.
People say to me at times that we're trying to do too much. I say that the Church is not doing enough and that the Church must hear the cries in our cities and communities because never in the history of the Church have we had such incredible resources to use .
We are expected to respond to poverty in our cities by God and by those who are suffering. We give God our response at the end of each day whether we have responded with action or apathy. That action doesn't always mean the physical labor of it either. It means study and learn. Ask questions from those that live in poverty. Give your helpful insight away! Research and know your community and where the wounds are.
Poverty in America is easy to push out of sight. We can simply "change the channel" and watch something else.
So people can trash on Bono all that they want and degrade his faith and how he approaches the problems that break the very heart of God. The truth is that Bono is getting it done. We can ask: What Would Bono Do? because he is doing what Jesus did.
