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Given Much From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded (Luke 12:48) by Cat Van Hook I've been thinking about writing this article for quite some time, and like many other things in my life, it was almost doomed to stay contained in my head. I'm sure you can relate. You get a good idea, but don't always have the time or resources to make it happen. Well, this article is about how each of us could make a positive impact on this world if we each made one thing "happen." I originally thought my main focus would be on being good stewards of our environment, but I realize now this concept runs far deeper than protecting our earth. If you're reading this and you were born in the United States of America, you know a life that very few people on this earth know. In all likelihood, most of you grew up with a roof over your head, food to eat and clothes to wear. You probably received medical care when you needed it, your family may have owned a car, and maybe, just maybe, you went on a vacation every now and then. These are just some of the things we, as Americans, take for granted. I'm certainly not saying that everyone in America has had the above comforts, and I'm not belittling any tragedy or hard times that have happened in your life, but rest assured, somewhere, someone has had it much worse than you have. Every day in this world people starve, die of preventable diseases, and watch their friends get killed in senseless violence. I believe that although we don't come in direct contact with these people or necessarily live in their countries, we have a responsibility to humankind to help them in whatever way we can, and we have a responsibility to preserve and maintain our earth (instead of destroying it like we are currently in the habit of doing). Luke 12:48 spells it out pretty plainly: "...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." That's a pretty serious thing for us as Americans. You're probably wondering when I'm going to get off my soapbox and tell you what my solution is to all of these problems. The truth is, I don't have the one and only solution, but I do know that each and every person can do something to help. I've had to take some time and think of some practical ways I can make a difference. Some examples include: Participating in Habitat for Humanity projects (in our city or elsewhere) Donating money to a charitable organization like Compassion International Buying goods from companies who care about our environment (an example would be Seventh Generation products) Recycling as much as possible Eating one less pizza per month and sending that money to a charitable organization like Project Hope that gets vaccines for preventable diseases to people in need around the world Becoming a "Big Brother" or "Big Sister" to a child who needs a role model These are just a few and by no means a complete list. We each need to pick something that uses our gifts, talents and resources accordingly. I know that all of the problems of the world seem overwhelming and depressing if we look at them all at once, but that is precisely why we ALL need to do something about them, especially us as Christians. My plea to you is that you make one — just one — pact with yourself to change one little thing and encourage others to do the same. Even if you're already making good use of your time and resources by helping out, can't we all do just a little bit more? You'd be surprised what a difference it would make if everybody did just one more thing to help out!