man.of.depravity

Rose was watching Oprah a few months back and Oprah was doing this showcase about Kiva. I wish I was creative enough to come up with things like that. If you haven’t heard of it, basically it allows entrepreneurs to start business all around the world. We think of this word in America and we think of rich people, but this is for people in third-world countries to try and establish a life for themselves. It was originally used in African countries such as Uganda. Guy Kawasaki has a great blog on some of the things we can learn from Kiva and why it is effective.

Take some time and look at Kiva’s website. I think this is a phenomenal thing that makes the world smaller and can allow people like you and I to make a difference from our bubble in the lives of people around the world. This isn’t a Christian organization or anything but it doesn’t mean Christians can’t make a difference despite that. The most amazing part is that 99.7% of the loans get paid back.

A friend of mine from college, Scott Mackey, wrote a blog that kind of sparked my thinking. You can take a look at it here.

He says, “Perhaps someday there will be a movement of young (or even old) professionals to the streets. The message of the “the other” will penetrate the veneer of the corporate world and we will witness communities of people who are accountants, successful doctors, executives, suburban pastors, and the like moving into simple housing with large closets for their business suits; choosing to ignore the values of the American Dream for the sake of the other.”

This got me thinking. Mother Theresa was poor and made a big difference. Bill Gates is rich and makes a big difference in the world too. I am not distinguishing between making a difference for poverty or for Christ…for this piece, they are the same.

The Bible says that it is harder for the rich to get to heaven and to me this makes a lot of sense. The rich don’t need to rely on God as much as someone poor because they can provide for themselves. I remember when I first started my copier sales job…My boss made a legit 400k and he went to church every Sunday. He said everyone in church plays a role and our role is to make a lot of money so that we can tithe a lot. I don’t think you can say that is wrong, but it has to be more than just showing up and dropping a big check in the bucket. God doesn’t care about the outside, he cares about the inside.

So just as my friend advocates for those who are choosing to be poor and live an abnormal life, I think I’d say that my old boss was right about everyone playing a role in the Kingdom. It might be more difficult for a rich person to rely on God but the one that does and uses their money to make a difference for poverty and/or Christ can do a lot more than most poorer people. Each person has to decide what their cause will be. I left my business job to pursue ministry, but I know that without generous givers at churches I won’t have a job. Everyone plays a role.