People need people before they need money. MONEY is not a SAVIOR. It's people, it's relationships, it's time. LOVE is the SAVIOR. Once you've established that, then yes. Give your money. Money fills the food, clothing and shelter voids.
If I was on twitter, I'd stop there. But it's still probably over 140 characters and I'm not on twitter because I think twitter is confusing. But please, lets not make this about how much you like the twitter.
But...I'm not on twitter. I can't keep my thoughts to 140 characters or less.
Back when I was in Amway there was a successful distributor that was also a phenomenal story teller. He made a really convincing argument for pursuing the business. But in one of his talks (and in many of others talks by other people) he mentioned something along the lines of throwing $100,000 at a problem and watch it go away. The challenger in me started to think about all the problems and if 100k would make it disappear. I had a hard time coming up with stuff. I even increased the 100k to a million. And in all the problems I came up with....usually money was only a band aid. Does it help? You bet. But it it doesn't heal. And sometimes...that temporary help may not be welcome. Even with all the problems, the 100k alone wouldn't do what needed done. It took a knowledge of knowing how to use that money to provide any sort of assistance.
There are many people sick of band-aids. They are beyond band-aid.
There are many people sick of band-aids. They are beyond band-aid.
A few years ago I was at a local diner. I was having a difficult phone call and was experiencing what I now know to be a small anxiety attack. An older fellow came over and gave me a $20 gift card to the diner. On the envelope was an address of his church and bible verse. It was so nice knowing that people see someone struggling and reach out to try to understand and help. I immediately overcame the anxiety and felt such a sense of peace.
HA! AS IF! HE MADE IT WORSE!
I'm not going to let you think that this was a good thing. Not even close. But I get it, his intent was pure. He did what he thought was a good thing. My question is where did he come to think that $20 and an invite to church was going to make any kind of dent in my situation. He had no idea what I was going through, he didn't even ask. Having said that, I know that those that give truly believe they are helping. And that act may even help some people. I guess I shouldn't get to frustrated that he was trying. But my question remains...where did he get the idea that leading with money would help?
Some "well intended" people accuse me of only seeing faults. Maybe I do. But guess what? So do they. They see mine. Because they only ever talk to me when they find one. Those same people only ever criticize. Not one have they ever said anything to build me up. And I feel bad for those people that never had anyone in their life to encourage them. I saw myself doing that not long ago and I'm working hard to break that cycle. So maybe my blogs is my outlet. But I do believe a lot of what I write about has a point to it.
Anyway. I'm rambling. My point was made in the very first paragraph. The rest is just useless internet fodder and me practicing to write. Maybe you enjoyed it. Maybe not.
That $20. I slid it under the table leg to keep the table from wobbling. Just kidding. I gave it to one of the employees to randomly pay for coffees.
Just for fun, I'm going to try to tell a parable. On a busy street in town, a pothole had developed after the first freeze/thaw. It created a nuisance and damage to cars. One man from out of town decided he should fill the pothole. He looked around and saw some leaves thinking it would be easy for him to carry them over and smash them into the hole. Once it was full and all the leaves were squished in he admired his work and moved along. A few minutes after the man had gone, the pothole remained, leaves askew.
Another man came through and saw the pothole. He thought he new just the thing. He went to the local hardware store and bought a small piece of plywood to cover the hole. This worked great for several days. But with each passing car the plywood moved and eventually left the pothole open once again.
And finally, a local man, who saw the pothole from day one took note from all the examples of what worked and didn't work. One day he just decided to call the DOT and have them fix it. It was cold the day they came and he went and offered them all coffee and bacon as a thank you for their prompt attention to the issue.
Sometimes you think you are helping. But in reality you may need to do a little research on the best way to go about. Throwing money into a hole isn't going to fix it.
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