Help Somebody Today

Look all around you, find someone in need,
Help somebody today!
Though it be little a neighborly deed
Help somebody today!

Chorus
Help somebody today,
Somebody along life’s way;
Let sorrow be ended,
The friendless befriended,
O help somebody today!

Many are waiting a kind, loving word,
Help somebody today!
Thou hast a message, O let it be heard,
Help somebody today!

Many have burdens too heavy to bear,
Help somebody today!
Grief is the portion of some everywhere,
Help somebody today!

Some are discouraged and weary in heart,
Help somebody today!
Someone the journey to Heaven should start,
Help somebody today!

I was unfamiliar with this particular hymn.  I found it in the Cokesbury hymnal from the early 20th century.  This practical hymn was written by Carrie Elizabeth Breck in 1904.  Mrs. Breck was a wife and mother of 5 daughters.  She had no real musical talent – no sense of pitch and couldn’t carry a tune, but she loved writing poems and authored over 2,000 of them.  She was not particularly healthy and would often times have to take breaks while doing household chores.  During these downtimes, she would write poems, like this hymn “Help Somebody Today.”  This hymn made me wonder about Mrs. Breck.  Did she write this from the perspective of one who needed help and realized what kind of ministry can happen when Christians pause and do some small act of kindness?  Or did she write this from a perspective of knowing that Christ has called many of us to a ministry of “helps?”  I Corinthians 12:28 reads “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”  I hope the words of this hymn will encourage you to “help somebody today.”

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “A neighborly deed” – When I first saw this phrase, I imagined the Andy Griffith show and the things Mayberry residents might do for one another.  Maybe it is fixing a meal for someone.  Maybe it is taking out their trash when they are on vacation.  Maybe it is mowing the grass for someone who is physically not able to do it themselves.  There are many of these kinds of deeds that we can do.  The question we need to ask ourselves is “Who is my neighbor?”  In Luke Chapter 10 in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus is very clear as to who our neighbors are.  They aren’t just the people we live next to, but they are the people we encounter everyday at work, at school, and at the grocery store.  It is those people in need of Christian love and kindness.

• “The friendless befriended” – This is kind of a sad thought in my mind.  Are there really people that have no friends?  I think for most of us this is somewhat hard to imagine, but I do believe that there are people that have been rejected by society, rejected by their family, and unfortunately been rejected by the Church or by individual Christians.  More than money or food or clothing, these people are in need of a friend.  I do believe that Christ is the greatest friend someone can ever have, but we can find these people and help them by being their friends too. 

• “Someone the journey to Heaven should start” – I was reminded of I Corinthians 3 when I saw this verse.  In that section of Scripture, Paul is talking about his ministry as compared to Peter and Apollos.  He reminded the Corinthian church that he was nothing, and Peter was nothing, and Apollos was nothing.  He said that some plant and some water, but God gives the increase.  What it doesn’t say is that we don’t have to do anything.  We all have something to do.  Something to share.  Someone to help on their journey to Heaven.  We just need to recognize that God ultimately gives the increase.

“HELP WANTED” – In the current economic environment with unemployment at almost 10%, you will probably not run into too many of those signs right now.  If there are jobs available, someone will find them.  However, there are people that we encounter everyday that are wearing “Help wanted” signs.  No, not a sign asking for a job. But outwards signs of inward struggles.  Signs from people struggling with sin.  Signs of hopelessness and fear.  Signs of people burdened down with care.  As followers of Christ, we are called to help.  Maybe it is financial.  Maybe it is our time.  Maybe it is a kind word or “neighborly deed.”  But there are people who want and need help.  I pray that we will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit on those occasions we sense the need to help because those are opportunities to share Christ with someone.  The added benefit is that we get the joy that comes from being a part of the sharing of the message of the Gospel with someone, and we can testify that we helped someone today.