A Little More Would Change the World

Introduction

    Pratima was only six years old when her parents died in North India.  An aunt took her in but soon realized she could not afford to care for her.  In desperation, and based on her Hindu beliefs, she made plans to send Pratima on to the next life by drowning her in the Ganges River.          

     In our world today, tens of millions of lives, like Pratima’s, are hanging in the balance.  As Christians in America, we have before us a responsibility and an opportunity that is unprecedented. 

 

The Condition of the World

     Every day 30,000 children die from preventable poverty-related causes,¹ 852 million people go to bed hungry,² 121 million children have no opportunity for education,³ there are 143 million orphans,⁴ and an estimated 246 million children suffer in the bonds of child labor.⁵

     In the face of such staggering need, what can be done?  We can save millions of lives!  God has commanded us to do it and given us the resources we need.  Imagine the joy, excitement and adventure of joining a movement of God to radically change the world.  Consider also the eternal reward that will be waiting at the end of this life:  “Sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven…”  (Matthew 19:21, emphasis mine).

 

The Word of God

Depart from me… into the eternal fire… for I was hungry

and you gave me nothing to eat…

Jesus (Matthew 25:41-42)

     If Jesus is going to send people to eternal fire for not feeding the hungry, He must take feeding the hungry very seriously.  Considering the fact that tens of thousands die every day from hunger-related causes,⁶ maybe we are not taking it as seriously as Jesus intended. 

Our Resources

     Experts estimate that for $13 billion a year we could provide basic nutrition for every starving person in the world.⁷ American Christians spend $21 billion a year on cable TV.⁸   

     For $6 billion a year we could educate every child currently not in school.⁹   American Christians spend $11 billion a year on coffee.¹⁰

     For $9 billion a year we could provide safe drinking water for the millions who die without it.¹¹ American Christians spend $21 billion a year on soft drinks.¹²

     These statistics are both disturbing and encouraging. They are disturbing because they reveal missed opportunities to save millions of people who have needlessly died, but they are encouraging because they demonstrate that if we change our spending habits, we will have the resources to save millions who will otherwise die in the next few years. 

    Purchasing soft drinks, coffee, cable TV and similar things may seem like small matters, but the phrase we long to hear from Jesus, “Well done my good and faithful servant,” is reserved only for those who are trustworthy in “very small matters.”

 

"Well done, my good servant!” his master replied. “Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.” 

Luke 19:17 (emphasis mine) 

     And considering that these choices make the difference between life and death for millions of people, perhaps they are not so small after all.

     Fortunately, Pratima’s story has a happy ending.  A Christian ministry intervened and kept her aunt from carrying out the plan to drown her.  They gave her a home, an education and a chance at life.  Today she is a beautiful young woman who loves the Lord and hopes to serve her people as a nurse.

     But for 11 million children a year the story has a tragic ending.  Every day that goes by, another 30,000 children die from malnutrition, contaminated water, infections, malaria, and other preventable causes. I challenge you to finish reading this booklet today.  If you put it off for a week, another 210,000 children will have died.  God loves each one of them as much as He loves you.  Think about the sorrow you felt the last time you lost a loved one.  God feels it at least 30,000 times a day.

     American Christians face a choice: will we rise up and save millions of lives or continue to let 11 million children a year needlessly die?  Will we be known as the “great generation” that virtually eliminated world poverty?  Or will we go down in history as one of the most selfish generations of all time -- the generation that loved its coffee, soft drinks, cable TV, golfing, movies, and other non-essentials more than God's children?

 

Just A Little More

 

     Approximately 160 million adults in America claim to be Christian.  If each one of us would increase our giving by just $15 per month to ministries who are effectively serving the poor, we could feed every starving person in the world, educate every child currently not in school, and provide safe drinking water for the millions who die from lack of it.                 

     There are more than 25,000 Christian service organizations, and they all have one thing in common: they could reach more people if they had more resources. 

     Radically changing the world would not even require that much sacrifice. We can exchange a few minutes of pleasure from a cup of coffee or a soft drink for the eternal pleasure of saving the lives of those God loves.  It would be a wise investment. 

     God himself will reward our generosity. “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing…. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:3-4 emphasis mine).

     This eternal reward will be in direct proportion to how much we do here on earth.  “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Luke 6:38).  If storing up treasure in heaven was not appropriate, Jesus would not have encouraged us to do it.

     The condition of the world, the commands of God, and the resources He has blessed us with lead to responsibilities and opportunities that are staggering in their scope and significance. 

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