Gandhi is credited with saying, "we should live simply so that others may simply live." Now I don't take all my cues from Gandhi but this quote succinctly says something I am very passionate about. The idea that we in this country have a responsibility to everyone- but especially our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world- to live beneath our means in order to redistribute our stuff to those in need.
The biggest problem as I see it is that we don't actually see needs on a daily basis that we can practically meet. I have not met someone truly transformed by Jesus who would look the other way as a friend goes without food or medical care or education or whatever. We give our money, we tell others, we invent ways to help our friends get the care they truly need. But most of our friends are not in destitute poverty. And we just don't see what we consider real poverty on a regular basis. Or if we see it, it's on TV, or through a donation letter, but not up close and personal, as in a conversation.
Many of us sponsor children around the world, give to our favorite organizations and do our best to be generous and make a difference. In fact, everyone I know wishes they had more to give. Because there is just something good and right about letting go of our resources and seeing them used to make someone's life tangibly better. To be the answer to someone's prayers for provision, or as Gary Haugen said, "to help people who have a hard time believing that God is good."
Well, not too long ago Matt Stauffer and I were talking about this, and with some encouragement from my friend Amy Wright decided to do something. We are a developing a website that is intended to help you free up more of your money so that you have more to be generous with. Essentially, we believe that small decisions on a weekly basis can add up enough to significantly impact peoples lives. No, we're not asking for your donations, but we do want to see you give more to the organizations that you think are doing a good job of making the world a better place. A world where there is no more hunger or pain or sickness or tears or death.
The site is FAR from finished but we're at a point where in the next couple of weeks we will need some people to begin using it to help us make it better (and hopefully) to help free up resources for what God is doing around the world. If you think you might be interested, head over to Spend Less Give More and sign up to be notified for when we launch the Beta version.
