Am I Really Helping?

Writing a check or making a donation makes no long term difference, unless there is life change that goes along with it. Unless change comes to the rich as well as to the poor, I can not call what I am doing justice.

If I sponsor a child through World Vision and then go out and buy a Hershey's chocolate bar, I am acting like a hypocrite.

If I donate towards a well in Zambia and then buy a bottle of water or let my toilet flush an entire tank of water, the only thing that I am practicing is how to be a con man.

If I donate to a local food bank and then throw out my leftovers or neglect to grow my own food, I am lying to myself and anyone else who sees my actions.

The justice of finding a sustainable lifestyle for humanity requires finding a sustainable lifestyle for all humanity. There is simply no other option.

Giving money may feel good, but, until grass is torn up to give way to gardens that help to diminish the waste of transporting goods over long distances, there is no way that we will come up with an answer to world hunger.

Spreading Coca-Cola and the golden arches across the globe is never going to teach farmers the techniques that they need to feed their families and their countries. People mimic what they see modeled for them. (Like it or not, people across the globe do look at America as an economic success story) What kind of models are we being?

Do I really practice what I preach?