In the light of the Christian belief that it is morally correct to love one's neighbour, explain how might Christians today react practically to Third World poverty and injustice

Treat others as you would like them to treat you" [Luke 6: Verse 3] This statement was a warning from God through Jesus to the selfish people who were living in the time of His Son. Such people still exist today but we can hope that these words will have some meaning to them and they will act on them accordingly.In modern times we can very easily equate the works of musician and pop star Bob Geldof to the message from Jesus. His sterling efforts through the charities "Band Aid" and "Live Aid" helped the poor and starving African people. He awakened the world to their plight. This truly is a contemporary example of the words of Jesus being acted upon.

The Religious Society of Friends, the Quakers, see the problems caused by poverty, the abuse of human rights, the destruction of the natural environment and the exploration of both people and the earth as intrinsically linked. Their concern about poverty, the distribution of wealth and development stems from their shared belief that there is something of God in everyone. Christian Aid, an agency of the churches in the UK and Ireland, is campaigning to tackle the negative impact of international trade rules on the worlds poorest people. Christian Aid's purpose is to expose the scandal of poverty and to contribute to its eradication. They strive to be prophetic, challenging the systems and processes that work against the interests of people who are poor and marginalized. The Salvation Army teach to give all you can - that God has created the whole universe. Everything we have is given to us in trust. "Whatever our skin colour or background, we are one in our common humanity and one in Christ."

What other charities are open to budding Christians? Christian Aid is a UK and Ireland based charity that funds projects in some of the world's poorest countries. It helps people to improve their own lives and to tackle the causes of poverty and injustice. It was set up in 1945 by churches in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Funds are channelled into local community groups and church organisations in the countries where they work. These organisations – their partners – use the money to help people directly. It does not give money to governments, nor does it fund individuals. Christian Aid is never party-political, and always works within the law, however it believes that it is its duty to address the causes of poverty. Many of these causes, such as debt or trade, are essentially political or economic in origin. CAFOD’s stated aim is to fight the worst manifestations of poverty overseas and its charitable status is built upon this. Some of the causes of poverty are rooted in man-made or political structures and systems, and as such, can be tackled through debate, lobbying and campaigning. One example is the world trading system, which is regulated and influenced by powerful countries or groupings such as the World Trade Organisation, and often works against the best interests of the poorest countries. Through engaging with trade ministers within the richest countries, development agencies such as CAFOD are bringing pressure to bear on such organisations to make the playing field a more level one for developed and developing countries alike. Where the link between a particular system, organisation or policy and the creation of poverty can be made, CAFOD is permitted to voice its concerns and campaign to change things.

Tearfund supports relief and development work in approximately 80 countries through a network of partner organisations.  Where there is no Tearfund partner of partners' capacities are limited. Tearfund has developed its disaster response facility to provide direct operational relief responses to major disasters.  Over the last decade Tearfund's disaster response team (DRT) has responded to many of the major natural and man-made disasters of the last six years, mounting programmes in Tanzania, Zaire, Afghanistan, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Sudan, Albania and Kosovo.  It has also supported partner-led responses to floods in Bangladesh and Mozambique, conflict in Guinea, Bissau, Hurricane Mitch in Central America, the Orissa cyclone and Gujarat earthquake in India and more currently the famine in eastern southern Africa. Through its operational work DRT has developed sectoral expertise in the areas of nutrition, water and sanitation, shelter and public health education, establishing close working relationships with other Non-Government Organisations (NGOs, bi-lateral institutional donors as well as the United Nations operational organisations such as UNICEF, WFP and UNHCR.

Jubilee 2000 grew from small beginnings to become an international campaign that brought great pressure to bear on G7 leaders to "cancel the unpayable debts of the poorest countries by the year 2000, under a fair and transparent process". By the end of the campaign, 24 million signatures had been gathered for the Jubilee 2000 petition, the first-ever global petition. There were Jubilee 2000 campaigns in more than 60 countries around the world. G7 leaders had committed to writing off $100bn of poor country debts, and debt had been pushed on to the global political agenda. By supporting any of the aforesaid organisations are reacting constructively to treating the poor and needy in the 3rd World.

Jesus was not trying to teach Christians to give everything away to others and suffer themselves. He simply taught to give the most you can to help others. He taught that a person's faith is far more important than any material possessions one may have on earth and that the Kingdom of God is a place much different to earth where worldly goods and status matter not. "People who long to be rich are a prey to trial; they get trapped in all sorts of foolishness and harmful ambitions which plunge into ruin and destruction. The love of money is the root of all evils …" [Timothy 6: Verses 9-10]. This teaching from Jesus attempts to prevent Christians being driven by selfish greed and the need for extravagant lifestyles, and to instil the message of the riches of faith and goodwill to our fellow man.

In conclusion, there is no question that Christians should respond positively to the statement that it is morally correct to Love One’s Neighbour. For each Christian, they should “give” what they can in relation to their lifestyle; for instance depending on their economic situation, or amount of free time and number of family commitments. Whether it be giving a few pounds a month to various charities, or getting directly involved in groups such as Chrisitian aid, God will honour all those who dedicate a fraction of their lives to the poverty stricken. God does not expect a million mother Teresa’s, but what he does desire is that every Christian makes some sort of contribution. These actions can either be active or passive, direct or subtle, for example designing posters supporting the Third World, or purchasing Fair Trade items. Perhaps a Christian could spend a part of life working in Africa, helping the poor and deprived, or rally supporters in local neighbourhoods. Whatever it is, everything revolves around the phrase, “every little helps”, when it comes to caring for God’s creation.