Once upon a time there was a man who wanted to change the world. He thought of the different ways that he could have influence in the world, and soon his sole passion in life was to help other people. One day he heard about a club that existed to help people in need, so he went to one of their meetings. He found that he was accepted there and loved and encouraged to come back to the meeting. After a few weeks, he found that although he was accepted there, he was also expected to come to the meetings every time they met. The man didn't mind, because he was getting accepted and loved, so he played along, hoping to be a part of helping people in need.
After a time, the man was asked to give money for people in need, which he gladly did. Finally he felt like he was giving to something that mattered, that made a difference. He had been told by this time that not only was club attendance expected, but he had to do things for the club. They weren't big things. Just simple acts of service that he was glad to do to be a part of the club. Over time, he came to know that it was expected of him to attend regularly, serve in ways that benefited the club, and - the part he loved the most - give to help people in need.
Then one day there was a big club meeting. He went because he had heard that the club would be talking about helping people who were in need. As the head of the club stood up, a budget of all the money that had been given to help people in need was handed around. The man was shocked to find out that 90% of the money given to help people in need was really used to profit the club. The club evidently needed nicer chairs for its meetings and a newer bus to drive its members around to different activities, and the carpet that had been put in 2 years earlier evidently needed to be replaced already because it was out of style. The club already had a new sound system and there was more money set aside for a whole new clubhouse. Why they had 2.5 million dollars set aside for the new club house!
He thought to himself, "Surely we could give some of that money to helping people in need!" The man was shocked. When he looked at the budget line where the numbers were for helping people in need in other countries, it was very small, and when he looked for the line where the numbers were to help people in need in their town, he couldn't find anything. He did find a line for the many club members who were paid to work for the club, and he was stunned to see that some of them made a lot more money than he made. It seemed, as the man looked at the big picture, that the club was the one who benefited from the club. The truth was that the only people that got helped by a club that was supposed to be helping people in need was the club!
The man felt angry when he realized that all the money he and others had given was being used to make the club a better place. He met with the club president and shared his concerns, but the president said that making a better club WAS meeting people's needs. The man argued that meeting the club's needs and helping people in need were different things, and the president suggested that maybe he should go somewhere else if he was so bent on helping people in need and not interested in making the club a better place. So he went to another club, but found the same self-serving agenda wherever he went.
Finally he decided that he would stop trying to go to any club and take his money to help people in need directly instead. This made him feel like he was really doing something that mattered. But every time he met somebody from one of the clubs, they tried to tell him he was bad for not going to a club, and questioned if he was a real Christian. He tried to love them, but they never understood why he wanted to help people in need more than he wanted to go to the club.
Obviously, this new path he'd chosen would not be easy, and he would be often misunderstood. Nonetheless, he knew without a doubt that he was meant for more than he'd experienced in the club, and he would go wherever that path led him.
Life coaches Mike and Laura Ege challenge people who are tired of shallow, ineffective faith to go beyond the brink of what they've always known and ignite a spiritual journey full of adventure, purpose, and freedom. To learn more about living a spiritual edge-venture and sign up for a FREE email series, '7 Radical Freedoms', visit their site at http://www.OutsideEdgeCoaching.com.
