“I’m running hard to the finishing line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got.
No sloppy living for me. I’m staying alert and in top condition.”  (1 Cor 9:27, The Message)

Where do you start to minister when poverty and oppression stare at you from everywhere? 

• Cambodia has the highest rate of child abandonment in Southeast Asia.
• One-third of all Cambodian prostitutes are children.
• Over 300,000 children are disabled, 30,000 of them victims of landmines.
• Sixteen percent of the population suffers from mental disorders, but less than one percent of the national health budget (which is only US$2.50 per person each year) is allocated to mental health care.

The easiest approach would be to throw up our hands and feel that little can be done.

When I arrived in Cambodia almost eight years ago, I found that between 15,000 and 20,000 children lived on the streets. I knew no one there, had never been to Asia and didn’t know a single word of Khmer. But I had a passion burning in my heart for children at risk in Phnom Penh.

That passion got me going and kept me involved. You may have money, years of training in children’s ministry and a big network of Christian friends back home. But if you don’t have passion for the poor and the lost, you won’t last in ministry.

Money cannot buy passion

I have visited a number of Christian agencies that serve the poor. They have great offices, big buildings, brand new cars and well-paid staff. But the passion has gone; the fire has died.

Money cannot buy passion. It comes from God. Passion will get you started and will keep you going even in the worst of places.

Some years ago, among many articles about the famous and rich, the popular French magazine Paris Match published an article about two Catholic nuns. These women left their comforts in France to reach out to the street children in Mongolia, working in temperatures of minus 30°C. Passion will get you to do what no one has ever done before.

The story of Telemachus

The ancient story of Telemachus speaks to this point. Rome was celebrating its temporary victory over Alaric the Goth in its usual manner, by watching its gladiators fight to the death in the arena. Suddenly, a crudely-clad robed figure boldly leaped into the arena.

Telemachus was one of the hermits who devoted themselves to a holy life of prayer and kept themselves apart from the wicked life of Rome. Although few Roman citizens followed their example, most of them had great respect for these hermits, and the few who recognized Telemachus knew he had come from the wilds of Asia, on a pilgrimage to visit the churches and celebrate Christmas in Rome.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Telemachus advanced upon the two gladiators who were engaged in their life-and-death struggle.

Laying a hand on one of them, he reproved the gladiator for shedding innocent blood, then turning toward the thousands of angry faces around him, called to the audience, “Stop murdering each other!”

Shouts drowned out his voice. “This is no place for preaching! Get on with the combat!”

Pushing Telemachus aside, the two gladiators prepared to continue the fight, but Telemachus stepped in again. Enraged at the interference of an outsider, the gladiators turned on Telelmachus and stabbed him to death.

The crowd fell silent, shocked by the death of this holy man. But his death was not in vain; from that day to this, no gladiators ever went into combat in the Coliseum.

Passion will move you

God’s Spirit burning in you will lead you, too, 'even in the middle of the arena'. When everyone stands back and watches, passion will move you to stand up for righteousness – even in the poorest, most remote and most dangerous places on earth.

by Timothée Paton

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