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Eye on the World: making a difference
From big-ticket initiatives like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s push for safer drinking water and better agriculture, to smaller initiatives like the “Source to Sea Cleanup” of the Connecticut River, philanthropy and volunteerism has been in the news a lot lately. Surveys suggest that societies around the world are becoming more civically-minded, driven especially by young people whose focus on societal improvement is leading them to volunteer in record numbers.
Volunteering and philanthropy certainly don’t have to have an explicitly religious component (although churches have traditionally played a big role in carrying out this kind of work). But a clear spiritual view, one that recognizes God’s embrace of each element of His creation, can undergird philanthropic efforts, and can reveal previously unseen ways of helping one’s neighbors.
“A spiritual model for giving” lays the foundation. “Prayer has a multiplier effect,” the author explains. “It begins with gratitude for God, Love, the infinite source of good … Prayer opens us up to this goodness, to qualities such as courage, patience, receptivity, unselfishness, creativity, and fearlessness, which enable us to take bold steps in confronting need and lack.” Since prayer knows no boundaries, we can trust that God will always direct us to new, effective ways of meeting perceived needs.
“Delight in international giving” provides an example of this kind of prayer in action. The author shares how an urgent need on a philanthropic project was met by divine inspiration – even though this need hadn’t been foreseen or budgeted for.
You’ll also want to read “Volunteering time … and prayer,” the cover story from an issue of the Christian Science Sentinel that came out more than a dozen years ago. The author explains how our prayers lead us to give unselfishly – rather than being motivated by self-important reasons – and purify our motives, so that philanthropy becomes a natural outgrowth of God’s care for His creation.
It’s divinely natural to want to defend and uplift our communities, and prayer always shows us the best way to do this.