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What Would You Do

M

marry-ella

Member
This is my response the question : If you were given a substantial amount of money ($500,000) to be used to better our world, what would you do with it? Support your response with details and information.

If I was given a substantial amount of money like $500,000 to be used to better our world I would give life giving water physically and spiritually around the world. I would make wells in the name of Jesus; 'with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." Isaiah 12:3.

One of the organizations that does this is Jesus Wells. Just to give you an understanding about Jesus wells I will explain briefly it's roots. I have been receiving newsletters weekly from Gospel for Asia for 3 years now. Here is the disclaimer, the church doctrine is radical and I do not agree with all aspects of doctrine. The founder K.P. Yohannan wrote the book "Revolution in World Missions" it is a very inspiring novel. In it you begin to understand the true nature of poverty in the third world but you also learn how life can be lived simply. He himself and Gospel for Asia pastors have and do live in the villages, towns and cities they ministrer to, thus understanding the needs of the community. This way money is spent wisely and effectively, with out upsetting the culture of the area. One of Gospel for Asia's focus charities is Jesus Wells.

Water is a need all humans have. I also believe that salvation is a need every human has too, that salvation coming from Jesus Christ alone, the life giving water "but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." John 4:14. Partnering these two concepts I would build wells in the name of Jesus.

In our nation, Canada, water flows freely from our taps. In many parts of India water comes from wells, if you are an untouchable you are most likely banned from your towns local water supply because of your social status. Furthermore if you became a Christian you may be persecuted by a ban from your towns water supply. So the obvious conclusion is to provide water. Wells may not be in every village, a person may live in a ruel community, needing to walk many miles to get to the wells. The average third world house hold owns one pair of shoes. Usually for the man of the home or eldest son. In Africa woman and girls can spend 3 hours a day fetching water, which for girls, means time away from school. If I could help supply wells for these villages so that people could get water with much less of a burden I would.

In our world 1 billion people live with out clean drinking water and 2 billion live without safe sanitation facilities. Afghanistan, Ethiopia and parts of Madagascar are the most deprived of clean drinking water in the world, with 0-20% of people with access to improved drinking water. Between 1990 and 2000, more of our worlds children died of diarrhea, as a result of unclean drinking water, then all the people killed in armed conflicts since the Second World War. I truly want to spread the gospel by supporting the apostles who in the days of Jesus ".. set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere." Luke 9:6, in context this verse is speaking of real, physical, healing. What better way to "Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you." Luke 10:9 then to provide the sick with clean drinking water.

Healthy people equals a healthy world; a better world. If I were given the finacial resources to better our world I would provide the life giving water it's people desperately need.



Sorces
Jesus Wells website http://www.gfa.org/jesuswells/
Revolution in World Missions by K.P. Yohanna
Healing our World writen by David Morley
National Geographic's World Map 2004
The Bible
 
Your turn. If you were given a substantial amount of money ($500,000) to be used to better our world, what would you do with it? Support your response with details and information.
 
If I was given a substantial sum of money with which to improve the world I would begin to create businesses that grow that money, create jobs and give needed services. The idea is to create jobs and create money to support active ministries. I have a wide variety of businesses such as day care centers, fast food franchise, cleaning services. Anything that employs people, teaches needed skills and allows us to continue to support ministries that are important.

SweetLissa
 
If I was given a significant amount of money to better the world. I would set up a system of taking care of widows and orphans as we are commanded to do in the Bible.

Liz
 
Hi Sweet Ladies,
Excellent ways to better the world, I almost encluded the verse about true religon myself. Many of the children who die of diahrea are orphans, and that would include the worlds poorest widows but it would also support men and whole families. There is no one right answer even if there are lots of wrong ones :-D. I was hopping for a little more than just spread the gospel, feed and cloth the needing, help widows and orphans. What would you do with money to make it happen. One intresting thing I left out of my contrabution idea is mental health. Though I am sure that not being thirsty and having to walk bare foot to get water then packing large quantities of all your families needed water home with you would improve your mental health. It isn't very focused. Physical, Emotional, Socail needs are such a hudge topics. It's can be donting to look at the problems of the world. The nobel peace prize winning author of Healing Our World (Inside Doctors Without Borders) written by David Morley was one the sorces I used for stats, chosing to rounding the numbers 1.1billion became 1 billion. I once had the pleasure of seeing him lecture at the Mire Center for Peace in Castelgar B.C.. I had the distinct please of being aloud to ask him a question that he would address the audience with. I asked David Morley what advise he had for the simple person like me, inregards to how to go about humantiarian efforts. He gave a beautiful 20 min response that boiled down to picking something that you are passionate about (not necisarly being a doctor like him), getting together with other people and make it happen. Intrestingly enough he gave the impression while answering a series of questions that he doesn't think that the world will get better, this doesn't stop us from doing the right thing. I would say the world needs Jesus. Martin Luther King, Jr. said "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." Pastor Mark of Mars Hill Church in Seatle recently said in a sermon
" What’s your cause? What’s your thing? Some of you are single-issue voters. You really only care deeply about one thing. Some of you have causes that are more “Christian” in orientation. Children, midwives, homeschooling, Christian schooling, public schooling, school choice, conservative politics, pro-life. Certain kind of student ministry, youth ministry, family ministry. Certain kind of musical style. Certain theological system. Certain author. What’s your cause? What’s your cause? What’s your cause?


Others of you, your cause is not necessarily Christian. And you could be religious and an atheist, but you can have a religious devotion and zeal for a cause. Recycling, small carbon footprint, biking to work, feeding hungry people, giving clean water to those who are poor and sick and needy and diseased. Healthcare for those who are in need, affordable housing for those who are poor, liberation for those who are in the sex trade.

See, everyone’s religious. Martin Luther’s right, religion is the default mode of the human heart. Some of you have more Christian causes. Others of you have just moral causes, but we all have causes. And some of you would say, “Don’t attack my cause. I have a good cause.” And I would say, “You probably do. But what about Christ?” What about Christ?"

For all things let us edify God. As Jesus as our example I think we can acctualy do this tangable, but of course I was original speaking hypotheticaly which is always fun.
 
I would want to create a safe haven for young women who have been in abusive relationships. I know that there are crisis centers all over the country but I'd want to have job training, skill building and internship programs.

I would give young women the tools they need to break the cycle of abuse and break down the strongholds they are often burdened with because they don't know how to get out of these situations.
 
Realistically, if that can be said about this hypothetical, I would probably work toward Sweetlissa's business plan as that is what I would love to do but don't have the startup capital.
Since she said it already I decided to go with a funny since I had just finished reading 6 pages of gambling posts! :D
 
Rubicon,
This is what hubby and I are working toward now. We plan to start our first business. The plan (when it starts) is to use cash from one business to start other businesses. I would like to have a day care center that would provide solid day care for our employees and also train people in work skills. We would employ people and the money earned from these businesses would go toward new businesses and also to ministries, like scholarships of day care for single mothers, helping people get on their feet after a crisis and other ministries as they become part of our focus. I would love to have a gym so that we can use that to help people become healthy, both spiritually and physically. Of course this is a 10-15 year plan.

Thanks for your vote of confidence. I believe that we can all make the world a better place if we just concentrate on what we can do for others.

SweetLissa
 
Sweetlisa,

That is such a great idea. It's a good way to reach your neighbors, the people in your community and if it works others can look to you as an example. Perhaps paving the way so in the future, others wishing to do the same thing having something to offer the bank in way of proff it works.

Rubicon,

I just poped in the forums to mention something I thought of today in regards to your "funny" reply. I may have giggled but have you ever watched the gambling for charity on T.V. big sports starts and gambling champions extra gambling for their favorit charity? They do a lot of good and draw an audience to the net work wich means I am sure it will keep being a real possitive thing.
 
I haven't ever seen the gambling for charity thing before but one of my extended family members had mentioned over the holidays that they watched something like that.
A bunch of the family is on a huge poker kick right now and none of them play for real money but they have been playing tons of poker for the fun of it.
I tried to play with them on new years but I am terrible and was eliminated almost immediately, completely out of fake money. That is why I don't play with real money! ;)
 
Educate the world about our cosmic citizenship and true ascension! With the knowledge of who we are and what we were created to achieve on this Earth, we would have less stress on living and less people just existing. I truly wish we lived in a world where education brought forth talents and gifts, not preparation for a J-O-B!
 
I agree that teaching the gospel is the most important thing we could do. However, there are many many people out there whose basic physical needs are not being met due to lack of training and/or physical situations. We need to meet the physical needs first so that they can be teachable about spiritual things. You have to give people a safety net. Also, as we work with people we will be able to show them God in ourselves. Our lives are our testimony. How can we convert people to God if we ignore their physical needs.

SweetLIssa
 
sweetlissa said:
I would begin to create businesses that grow that money, create jobs and give needed services.
Click to expand...

Excellent plan Sweetlissa. Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach them to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.

ylop gone fishing
 
marry-ella said:
If you were given a substantial amount of money ($500,000) to be used to better our world, what would you do with it?
Click to expand...

A flip-side to this topic - it is likely within the reach of many forum members to generate this level of money within their own lifetimes, rather than wait for someone to give it to them, which will probably never happen.

So my challenge would be - if you have a $500k dream, are you willing to put in the work to achieve it? Because if you really want to, and live in the USA or other first-world countries, you can.

ylop
 
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