How to Make the World a Better Place

I heard a young man tell me that he thought he would go to heaven because he was making the world a better place. He didn't seem to be doing anything that was positively affecting anyone. He was wrong about two things: that's not what it takes to go to heaven and he wasn't making the world a better place.

Making the world a better place is a nice concept. I think most people mean that they are positively affecting the people they know. They think that smiling and greeting others is enough to make the world a better place. While I agree that it is better to smile and greet others, I don't believe this is making any major contribution to the world.

Each person has their own limits to how much of the world they can positively affect. Some people will have a large impact by their leadership abilities. Others will have a smaller impact with their desire to personally serve. We must get away from the idea that changing the world requires global recognition. We need to focus on our own calling and capacity to change the world.

The first person who needs to be positively affected is yourself. You must be a different person in order to draw people toward a positive change. We must see ourselves as the first project. If we have the ability to do all the things that are great but don't have love, we are just a big bag of loud noise. (Interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13) We must be different. In fact, we must be radically different to change the world.

Our focus must be toward our calling. God does not call us to things He will not gift us to do. He gifts us through a desire and an ability to do what He has called us to. He gives us the strength and works the circumstances so that we can change our world. Who would have thought that a nun in Calcutta, India would become internationally known by helping the poorest people on the earth? This is a God thing.

Changing the world means that we will listen to God. His leadership is essential for great things to happen. Disaster is around the corner when we strike out on our own. Even the disciples were told to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit had come to them. You cannot get ahead of God but you can certainly go where He never wanted you to. His power and His timing come when we follow rather than try to lead Him.

Discouragement is a part of great accomplishment. We should know that failures are not always bad things. Many times they make us stronger. Many times we will call out to God when we realize that we have been acting on our own initiative. You can do everything right some times and still have a disaster. God certainly allows His people to struggle to get their total dependence upon Him. Their failures became testimonies to others. The world was changed by these testimonies. Do not believe that God has lost control simply because you aren't able to accomplish what you thought you would.

The best way to make sure that you are on track is to keep in constant contact. It is easy to get lost when we do not check our compass or gps. This gives us assurance that we are doing what is right.

Then, to quote Sir Winston Churchill, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never!" Things will happen which will make you want to stop. But never do so. Change the world as you can with as many as you can.