‘Casting corporate bread upon the waters’

Oct. 14 Great article on what’s really going on with the Red Cross. Finally someone has explained how the Human Rights Campaign and politically correct corporations are more interested in their own agendas and stock prices than in helping people. Maybe now Christians will show a little more discernment. —Paul Matlock / Pagosa Springs, Colo.

Add to corporate support for the Red Cross lots of media endorsements. The St. Louis Cardinals, among other teams, set up a text number after Harvey so you could easily give $10. —Tom Hanks on wng.org

As a volunteer fireman I witnessed various agencies responding to wildfires in Oklahoma in 2009. The Salvation Army and Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief were on the scene early, did amazing work, and stayed for weeks. The Red Cross was disorganized and seemed more inclined to set up when the TV cameras were rolling. FEMA was useless. —Tuck Wilson on wng.org

‘Surveying our future’

Oct. 14 The ignorance of the teens Joel Belz met in the mall was mortifying, but as a teenager who does know what is in the Bill of Rights and follows the news, I promise that some of us can discuss public affairs in a dignified manner. Give us a few more years to finish maturing, and we will do just fine. —Emily Messner / Lincoln, Ill.

The teens who are going to run the world aren’t hanging out at the mall. Talk to the kids volunteering at shelters, nursing homes, food banks, and hospitals, or those starting fair trade businesses and fundraising for orphans. —Rebecca Owen Robinson on Facebook

As a 17-year-old, I think this column was a little unfair. If Belz had done this survey at a mall in the 1980s, the results might not have been much different. —Abigail Rutledge / Raleigh, N.C.

There certainly are many undereducated young adults today, but all hope is not lost. We need to support parents who are involved in their children’s lives instead of supporting an ever-expanding government education system that encourages parents to abdicate their responsibilities. —Susan Scott / Richmond, N.H.

Why are we surprised that today’s youth do not understand their civil liberties secured by the Bill of Rights? We have chiseled away at the Constitution, patriotism, and civic responsibilities for over 50 years. As Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” —Todd Taylor / Eastvale, Calif.

‘The disappearing teenage job’

Oct. 14 My children understood my work ethic—my first real job was at 13, and I shoveled driveways before that—but they found it hard to accept that I was unexceptional. Most of their friends did little or nothing, including household chores, and some in their circle almost vilified manual labor. —Kenneth E. Isgrigg on wng.org

When I was 16, my parents decided that I would pay for everything extra myself: movies, food with friends, and video games. Now after working at a local grocery for a year I have bought my own car and my own phone. It’s helped me become an adult. —Blaine Pavelka / Britt, Iowa

My son started working at 15. Ten years later he has built his own home and has savings with no debt. Starting work early prepares children and teaches them so much. —D.W. Brown on wng.org

‘Inherit the wind’

Oct. 14 I live near Houston, and the prevailing narrative of local media is that climate change is responsible for storms like Harvey; WORLD provided the other side of the story. The massive rainfall was the result of Harvey’s stalling right over the Gulf. Its path had nothing to do with climate change, and not to acknowledge that is intellectual dishonesty. —David Paul / Sugar Land, Texas

After Hurricane Katrina, alarmist scientists predicted more hurricanes because of global warming, yet instead in the last decade we saw no major hurricanes. Why were so many scientists wrong? —Tom Burley / Alto, Mich.

Yes, absolutism has replaced relativism, but political debate tactics have remained the same. Those who lack credibility feign outrage, and the decibels go up as the use of logic goes down. —Eberhard Roell / Boulder, Colo.

‘Esther’s story’

Oct. 14 The story on Jacob and Esther Ybarra moved me deeply. Their obedient faith is both convicting and inspiring. May it also be said after my departure that my “greatest strength was her relationship with Jesus.” —Melanie Pollard / Marlborough, Mass.

Tragedy, pain, and sorrow are the human condition in this life. Testimonies like Esther’s show how “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing,” as enabled by God’s Spirit, is the Christian condition. —Marc Lanman on wng.org

Thank you to Sophia Lee for this story. May we be inspired to live more intentionally for His glory. —Roxann Hadley on wng.org

‘A land of scars’

Sept. 30 I grew up in Nigeria as the daughter of missionaries and lived through the civil war. Your article reminded me of the time my sisters and I were having a picnic and saw warriors dressed for battle marching along our rural road. —Sheri Monsma Muma / Fleetwood, N.C.

‘Death-defying acts of kindness’

Sept. 30 Thank you to Mindy Belz for the reminder that ice bucket challenges aren’t much of a challenge compared with what Christian Friends of Korea does against all odds. —Brenda Zook / Belleville, Pa.

‘A Hollywood story’

Sept. 30 I saw the documentary about Steve McQueen. It wasn’t an edge-of-the-seat narrative, but it kept its promise to show his arc to Christianity in a new way. It’s an amazing story about a guy who had everything, lost it, and still kept looking until the right combination of people and events led him to Christ. —Tom Zimmerman / Waukesha, Wis.

More letters, emails, and comments we didn't have space for in the print edition:

‘You better believe it’

Oct. 14 Great headline. When one lie loses influence, the evil one insinuates a new lie into the mix. The battle of truth against the perverse twisting of reality must continue to the very end, when Christ will bring all such deception to a screeching halt. —Doug Wallace on wng.org

‘Real time’

Oct. 14 I appreciate this column as I begin caring for aging parents, one of whom insists she can still do it all herself. I so often need an attitude check. Serving them is serving Christ, and that’s real life. —Linda Kerr on wng.org

‘Kuyper’s manifesto’

Oct. 14 Both the left and right are far too revolutionary, and Christians are not guiltless. Believers on both sides of the political aisle should put away the sledgehammers. —Daniel McPhearson on wng.org

‘Forward motion’

Sept. 30 I always appreciate WORLD’s focus on sports stars who follow Christ, such as Kurt Warner. It stirs hope. On the other hand, the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, whose players and owners publicly support liberal causes, just as clearly lives out Romans 1:32 for all to see. —Elaine Neumeyer on wng.org