And You Shall Know That I Am The Lord

How to Build a Better World

Your task is to build a better world,’ God said. I answered, ‘How?… this world is such a large, vast place, and there’s nothing I can do.’ But God said, in all His wisdom, ‘just build a better you.’ – Author Unknown

Every person I know seems to want a better world. Pretty much everybody you see on TV talk shows says they want a better world. All the politicians you hear and see are talking about how they have a plan to build a better world.

All the plans seem to have one thing in common… Somebody else has to change or somebody else has to do better. It seems so daunting a task that few people actually attempt to make the world better. Pretty much everybody you see or hear talking about a better world forgets the easiest place to start… with themselves. It is just like the poem says, “build a better you.”

Befriend people who aren’t like you. Don’t judge them, just try to understand them. Listen, really, really listen to someone who has a point of view very different than your own. Put yourself in their shoes and look at their point of view as if you were going to help them convince someone with your point of view… that your point of view is wrong.

It’s very difficult to learn new things when we invest our time only with people who think like us, act like us, and do the things we do. Expand your horizons by expanding your sphere of influence, have a conversation with someone you normally wouldn’t at least once a week. Learn a foreign language and while you’re at it learn about the country and people who speak it natively. Don’t criticize someone else’s thinking without first understanding the origin of their thoughts. You may discover that the only reason you don’t like someone is because you don’t know them well enough.

Don’t wait for someone to ask for help, don’t offer to help someone who you think needs it… just help whenever and wherever you see help is needed. Don’t aspire to a position or title that people will follow, instead inspire them to follow the PERSON that YOU are. Never, never, never try to be someone that you’re not. Don’t try to imitate someone else, simply be the best you, the you that you have always been meant to be.

Invest time and energy in building a better you every single say and imagine just how much better the world would be if every other person followed your lead. If you really want to build a better world… then begin by building a better you!

The Most Important Investment in Our Future Might Not Be What You Think

There aren’t too many events that can bring everyone from Malala to Beyoncé to the Muppets together to talk about global development. But that’s exactly what happened last week in New York City when people from around the world met at UN headquarters to discuss the global goals that will drive the world’s ambitions and actions for the next fifteen years.

After an incredible week, I left New York with two takeaways: First, when the world works together to improve the lives of people living in extreme poverty, incredible progress is possible. Second, if we want to build on this progress, we need to put women and children at the center of the global agenda. The end of poverty begins with them.

We know progress is possible because we’ve seen it already — especially for women and children. Since 1990, the number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth has gone down by 46 percent. The number of children dying before their fifth birthday has been cut by more than half.

What’s more, women and children are not only surviving; they are thriving. Young children are sick less often. Adolescents are in school more often. Women’s economic prospects are improving, thanks in part to investments in things like agriculture, financial services, and sanitation.

And not only are women and children benefitting from progress, they’re helping drive it. Their contributions are one of the key reasons that extreme poverty has been cut in half since 1990.

When you stop to think about all of the people behind these statistics — people who are living healthier, longer, and more fulfilled lives — the scope of these accomplishments is even more impressive.

But the reason the world came together in New York last week is to declare that we aren’t done yet. We pledged that over the next fifteen years, we’ll drive progress even further, even faster. And one of the ways we will do that is by continuing to invest in women and children.

Here’s why.

Every cent invested in women and children delivers benefits across society. For example, when the world invests in vaccines, kids are healthier — and their parents don’t have to stay home from work to take care of them.

When we invest in nutrition, children are able to develop to their full promise both physically and mentally, enabling them to learn better in school and contribute more to the workforce as adults.

When we invest in improving a woman’s access to the healthcare she needs to live a healthy life and the contraceptives she needs to plan and space her pregnancies, she can more fully participate in the economy and has a better chance of lifting her family out of poverty.

In other words, when we invest in women and children, we are investing in a healthier, more prosperous future for everyone. If the world lives up to the promises articulated in these global goals — especially its promises to women and children — I’m optimistic that over the next fifteen years, we will see the end of extreme poverty once and for all.

It’s an exciting moment in human history. For the first time ever, we don’t have to accept that extreme poverty will always be a part of everyday life. We know from the progress we’ve seen already that the world can close the gap between what’s possible and what’s purely aspirational. That means we can finally do more than ask, “What if?”

Instead, we can ask, “Where do we start?”

REFERENCE: https://medium.com/@melindagates/the-most-important-investment-in-our-future-might-not-be-what-you-think-dabfe891663e

You Are Called to Serve Others, Not Yourself

“Each of us will give a personal account to God.” (Romans 14:12 NLT, second edition)

At the end of your life on Earth, you will stand before God, and he is going to evaluate how well you served others with your life. The Bible says, “Each of us will give a personal account to God” (Romans 14:12 NLT, second edition).

Think about the implications of that. One day God will compare how much time and energy we spent on ourselves compared with what we invested in serving others.

At that point, all our excuses for self-centeredness will sound hollow: “I was too busy” or “I had my own goals” or “I was preoccupied with working, having fun, or preparing for retirement.” To all excuses God will respond, “Sorry, wrong answer. I created, saved, and called you and commanded you to live a life of service. What part did you not understand?”

The Bible warns unbelievers, “He will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves,” but for Christians it will mean a loss of eternal rewards (Romans 2:8a).

We are only fully alive when we’re helping others. Jesus said, “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (Mark 8:35 TLB; see also Matthew 10:39, 16:25; Luke 9:24, 17:33).

This truth is so important that it is repeated five times in the gospels. If you are not serving, you are just existing, because life is meant for ministry. God wants you to learn to love and serve others unselfishly.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

• What has been the effect on you when you serve others?
• Why does God want us to learn to love and serve others? What does that say about him?
• What service has God called you to that you didn’t think you had enough time or energy to do?

REFERENCE: http://rickwarren.org/devotional/english/you-are-called-to-serve-others-not-yourself