If I Could Change the World

"I could change the world,
I would be the sunlight in your universe
You would think my love was really something good
Baby, if I could change the world" -
Eric Clapton

(photo source: alabamarockcompany.com)


The evening news parades a host of video footage of the devastation in Alabama after tornadoes ravaged through the area a few weeks ago and the devastation of the Tsunami that struck Japan. We regularly see images of the homeless on the streets of the cities of our nation and the abandoned children around the world who are hungry and without a family to care for them. After a while it all becomes overwhelming and depressing. We cannot change the world and eliminate all the suffering that we continue to see.

We all grew up with teachers telling us things like, "did you bring enough for everyone?", and leaders telling us things like, "If I did that for you, then I would have to do it for everyone." And, we are left with the idea that we have to treat everyone exactly the same. If we invest in one person or group that it is not fair unless we do it for everyone. Leaders are left to feel inadequate because they cannot go the extra mile for one person needing help, because they cannot extend the same level of assistance to everyone they contact. Is it really more important to feel like we are being fair with everyone or it it more important to be working to change something for someone?

How does one change the world? How can we make a difference in the suffering, hurting, loneliness, and devastation?

We can make a difference - one life at a time.

Despite what we have had drilled into our skulls over the years of "it's not fair" and "If I gave this to you, I would have to do it for everyone." We can make a difference one life at a time, one person at a time, one neighborhood at a time.

Invest in one person that you have regular contact with, do for that one what you wish you could do for everyone. Invest in one organization that is making a difference in someone's world. Look around. Find something that is actively making a positive difference and take a part.

What can that look like for you? Volunteering at a soup kitchen? Volunteering at a Nursing Home? Adopting a child? Skipping this year's vacation and going on a short term mission trip? Donating your used car to a single mother instead of trading it in?

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." - Galatians 6:9-10 (New International Version)

For more on this subject, I suggest viewing this message:
One, No Everyone

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