Written in 2007, this booklet expresses our heart and passion to serve the poor in Jesus' name,

encouraging fellow believers to re-examine our Biblical mandate and our resources in light of
the world's needs. If you'd like free hard copies of this booklet, please email us at
info@goodmeasure.org.

"Well done, my good servant!” his

master replied. “Because you have been trustworthy

in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.”

Luke 19:17 (emphasis mine)

Dr. Bernard Borah

Copyright © 2007 by Bernard Borah

All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from HOLY BIBLE, NEW
INTERNATIONAL VERSION® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible
Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

“NIV” and “NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION” are trademarks registered in the United States
Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society®.
Introduction
Pratima was only six years old when her parents died in North India. An aunt took her in but
soon realized she could not afford to care for her. In desperation, and based on her Hindu beliefs,
she made plans to send Pratima on to the next life by drowning her in the Ganges River.

In our world today, tens of millions of lives, like Pratima’s, are hanging in the balance. As
Christians in America, we have before us a responsibility and an opportunity that is
unprecedented.

The Condition of the World

Every day 30,000 children die from preventable poverty-related causes,1 852 million people
go to bed hungry,2 121 million children have no opportunity for education,3 there are 143 million
orphans,4 and an estimated 246 million children suffer in the bonds of child labor.5

In the face of such staggering need, what can be done? We can save millions of lives! God
has commanded us to do it and given us the resources we need. Imagine the joy, excitement and
adventure of joining a movement of God to radically change the world. Consider also the eternal
reward that will be waiting at the end of this life: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven…” (Matthew 19:21, emphasis mine).

The Word of God

Depart from me… into the eternal fire… for I was hungry

and you gave me nothing to eat…

Jesus (Matthew 25:41-42)

If Jesus is going to send people to eternal fire for not feeding the hungry, He must take
feeding the hungry very seriously. Considering the fact that tens of thousands die every day
from hunger-related causes,6 maybe we are not taking it as seriously as Jesus intended.

Our Resources

Experts estimate that for $13 billion a year we could provide basic nutrition for every starving
person in the world.7 American Christians spend $21 billion a year on cable TV.8
 For $6 billion a year we could educate every child currently not in school.9 American
Christians spend $11 billion a year on coffee.10

For $9 billion a year we could provide safe drinking water for the millions who die without
it.11 American Christians spend $21 billion a year on soft drinks.12

These statistics are both disturbing and encouraging. They are disturbing because they reveal
missed opportunities to save millions of people who have needlessly died, but they are
encouraging because they demonstrate that if we change our spending habits, we will have the
resources to save millions who will otherwise die in the next few years.

Purchasing soft drinks, coffee, cable TV and similar things may seem like small matters, but
the phrase we long to hear from Jesus, “Well done my good and faithful servant,” is reserved
only for those who are trustworthy in “very small matters.”

"Well done, my good servant!” his master replied. “Because you have been trustworthy in a
very small matter, take charge of ten cities.”

Luke 19:17 (emphasis mine)

And considering that these choices make the difference between life and death for millions of
people, perhaps they are not so small after all.

Fortunately, Pratima’s story has a happy ending. A Christian ministry intervened and kept her
aunt from carrying out the plan to drown her. They gave her a home, an education and a chance
at life. Today she is a beautiful young woman who loves the Lord and hopes to serve her people
as a nurse.

But for 11 million children a year the story has a tragic ending. Every day that goes by,
another 30,000 children die from malnutrition, contaminated water, infections, malaria, and other
preventable causes. I challenge you to finish reading this booklet today. If you put it off for a
week, another 210,000 children will have died. God loves each one of them as much as He loves
you. Think about the sorrow you felt the last time you lost a loved one. God feels it at least
30,000 times a day.

American Christians face a choice: will we rise up and save millions of lives or continue to let
11 million children a year needlessly die? Will we be known as the “great generation” that
virtually eliminated world poverty? Or will we go down in history as one of the most selfish
generations of all time -- the generation that loved its coffee, soft drinks, cable TV, golfing,
movies, and other non-essentials more than God's children?

Just A Little More

 Approximately 160 million adults in America claim to be Christian. If each one of us would
increase our giving by just $15 per month to ministries who are effectively serving the poor, we
could feed every starving person in the world, educate every child currently not in school, and
provide safe drinking water for the millions who die from lack of it.
There are more than 25,000 Christian service organizations, and they all have one thing in
common: they could reach more people if they had more resources.

Radically changing the world would not even require that much sacrifice. We can exchange a
few minutes of pleasure from a cup of coffee or a soft drink for the eternal pleasure of saving the
lives of those God loves. It would be a wise investment.

God himself will reward our generosity. “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left
hand know what your right hand is doing…. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret,
will reward you” (Matthew 6:3-4 emphasis mine).

This eternal reward will be in direct proportion to how much we do here on earth. “Give and it
will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be
poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Luke 6:38). If
storing up treasure in heaven was not appropriate, Jesus would not have encouraged us to do it.

The condition of the world, the commands of God, and the resources He has blessed us with
lead to responsibilities and opportunities that are staggering in their scope and significance.

Chapter One

The Biblical Mandate

Although a full-length book could be written on the subject of this chapter alone, I will give
only a brief summary of what the Bible says about helping the needy.

He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many
curses.

Proverbs 28:27

Would you like to lack nothing? Do you want to avoid many curses? Then you must give to
the poor. I don't know what these curses are, but I do know that I don’t want them. And even
though we are giving to the poor, we are still “closing our eyes” to the fact that millions more are
dying and we have the resources to save them as well. The Bible does not say, “Feed some of the
hungry and let the rest die.” It says, “Feed the hungry.”
Faith Without Works

Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed
clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.” They
also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes
or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” He will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did
not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” Then they will go away to eternal
punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

Matthew 25:41-46

Some people struggle with this passage because it sounds like salvation by works -- if we feed
the hungry and clothe the naked, we will enter heaven. If we don't, then we are sent to eternal
fire. Since we know salvation is by grace through faith, how do we reconcile this passage with
the rest of Scripture? The answer is found in 1 John 3:17-18.

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can
the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions
and in truth.

Let's break it down: If anyone has material possessions (U.S. Christians spend $100 billion a
year exchanging Christmas gifts13) and sees his brother in need (30,000 children die every day
from preventable poverty-related causes), but has no pity on him (we don't take action to save
them), how can the love of God be in him (how can the love of God be in
him)?

Can a person be saved and not have the love of God in him? Feeding the hungry doesn't save
us, but if we are saved we will feed the hungry. James says the same thing:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save
him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him,
"Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what
good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James 2:14-17 (emphasis mine)

Can dead faith save? Apparently not. Even Jesus accepted Zacchaeus' desire to give to the
poor as evidence of his salvation.

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my
possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times
the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too,
is a son of Abraham.”

Luke 19:8-9

The book of Jeremiah also touches on the link between faith and service.

“He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to
know me?" declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 22:16

John 17:3 says, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Eternal life and defending the cause of the needy emanate
from the same source -- knowing God.

Jesus, Jeremiah, John, and James all use the same description of faith in action -- serving the
needs of the poor.

True Religion

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and
widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:27

Do you want your worship to be accepted by God as pure and faultless? Then you must help
widows and orphans in their distress. There are currently 143 million orphans worldwide, 20
million in India alone.

Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say,
“But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he
who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?

Proverbs 24:11-12

Millions are staggering toward death and we can't claim ignorance as an excuse for not
rescuing them. God is watching our actions and will repay us accordingly.

“What should we do then?” the crowd asked. John answered, “The man with two tunics should
share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”

Luke 3:10-11

Most believers in the U.S. have not only two tunics (a loose fitting shirt) but the equivalent of
thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of tunics. If a t-shirt costs $10 and a person has
$100,000 in stocks and bank accounts, that equals 10,000 tunics. We need to pray about how
many to give to those who have none.

The Sin of Sodom

Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and
unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.

Ezekiel 16:49

We usually attribute the fate of Sodom to their flagrant sexual immorality. But Ezekiel also
presents their arrogance, over-eating and lack of concern for the poor as reasons why God
destroyed the city.

Could Ezekiel level the same accusations against us? Sixty-four percent of adults in the U.S.
are overweight, thirty percent are considered obese, and these numbers are rising fast.14
American Christians spend billions of dollars overeating, another $13 billion a year on diet
programs,15 and $30 billion more on health care needs created by being overweight.16 With the
billions we waste on excess food, dieting, and related health care costs, we could feed every
starving person, provide safe drinking water for everyone in the world, and educate every child
currently not in school. What does God want us to do?

The Poor Will Always Be With You

People often refer to Jesus’ comment, “the poor will always be with you,” as if He were
downplaying the importance of giving to the needy. To understand what Jesus was saying, we
must study the passage He was quoting from Deuteronomy 15. The passage begins with a
statement of God’s desire in verse 4, “There should be no poor among you,” and ends with a
command to give generously in verse 11.

The main point of Jesus' statement was “you will not always have me.” The choice for Mary
was to anoint Jesus for burial or to give to the poor. Since Jesus no longer needs to be prepared
for burial, the choice we face is whether to give to the poor or spend on ourselves. Those who
use this quote as an excuse for inaction regarding the poor should remember that Jesus also said,

Depart from me… into the eternal fire…For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat...

Matthew 25:41-42

That doesn’t sound like someone who is half-hearted about feeding the hungry. Notice that
this passage from Matthew 25 is not a parable but a description of what is going to happen when
the Son of Man comes.
Answered Prayer

If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.

Proverbs 21:13

Do we want to be answered when we cry out? Then we must listen to the cry of the poor.
While this verse could be referring to something other than prayer, other passages are more
direct.

"When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,” says the LORD
Almighty.

Zechariah 7:13 (emphasis mine)

Have we been listening to God’s call to serve the needy? Considering the condition of the
world, maybe we “have ears but do not hear.” This may explain our lack of power in prayer.

Hoarding Wealth

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your
wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their
corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last
days... You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the
day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.

James 5:1-6

Have we “hoarded wealth in the last days?” Christians in America have over $1 trillion in
IRAs. 17 That's 1,000 billion dollars, enough to end world poverty many times over. We need to
pray about how much we should save.

Have we “lived on the earth in self-indulgence?” Christians in America spend $200 billion a
year on soft drinks, coffee, cable TV, vacations, eating out, golfing and boating. We choose to
partake of these things because we enjoy them, not because they are necessary. In other words,
we indulge ourselves. According to the United Nations, this $200 billion a year would end
extreme world poverty.

Have we “condemned innocent men?” Imagine a doctor passing a dying child with medicine
in his pocket that would save her. He chooses not to give the medicine, and the girl dies. Didn’t
the doctor condemn the child to death by not giving the needed medicine? We have plenty in our
pockets to save millions of people, if we choose to give it.
 The Biblical commands to meet the needs of the poor are numerous and strongly worded.
Will we be wise or foolish?

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man
who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and
beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But
everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man
who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat
against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

Matthew 7:24-27

Will we deceive ourselves?

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

James 1:22

God is watching to see if we are “hearers only” and is ready to reward those who obey.

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple,
I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.

Matthew 10:42

Chapter Two

Compassion

Every year the youth ministry Teen Mania puts on large events all over the country called
Acquire the Fire. One year they performed a practical and moving illustration. The speaker took
a goldfish out of its bowl, let it flop around on the table, stepped back, and let the seconds tick
away. Eventually, someone in the audience would run up on stage and put the fish back in the
water. They couldn't stand to watch a goldfish suffer and die.

If we had to sit and watch one of the 30,000 children who die every day during their last
agonizing hour of life, perhaps we would rise up and save them. Unfortunately, we don't see
them. For years I kept a picture of an emaciated child in the front cover of my Bible where I
saw it every day. Unpleasant? Perhaps, but useful in maintaining a focus on the reality of our
world. “Out of sight, out of mind” is certainly true concerning the hundreds of millions of
desperate people around the globe. It is interesting that, “When Jesus landed and saw the large
crowd, He had compassion on them” (Mark 6:34). We must keep the tragic suffering of the
world before our eyes. A picture of a starving child on our refrigerator might even help our diet.

According to a profile in Christianity Today, Tony Campolo would often begin a speech this
way: "I have three things I'd like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000
kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don't give a shit.
What's worse is that you're more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids
died last night."18 Campolo is right. Which upsets you more, the fast that I printed this quote on
our website, or the fact that 30,000 children died yesterday from preventable causes?

Think how upset we were at the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. It was and
continues to be tragic. But compare the 2000 people who lost their lives in Katrina with the
30,000 children who die every day from preventable poverty-related causes. There are 15
Katrina-sized disasters happening every day. If it were possible, would we have prevented the
hurricane? Of course! We have the resources to stop the 15 daily “Katrinas” -- if we are willing.
The task is huge, but we have a big God.

“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to
there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Matthew 17:20 (emphasis mine)

John F. Kennedy’s quote is famous because it is powerful. “There are those who look at the
way things are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” Let’s save
millions of children. Why not?

Chapter Three

Resources and Opportunities

The United Nations estimates that it would cost about $6 billion a year to educate every child
currently not in school. U.S. Christians spend $7 billion a year going to movies and sporting
events.19 Education is one of the keys to long term poverty relief. What an incredible opportunity
we have! If we redirect some of the money we spend on movies and ball games to provide
schools for those who have none, we can radically change the world.

But what if we choose not to? Will God say, “That's OK, they enjoy movies and games. Let
millions of children stay ignorant with little hope in life”?

Millions of people every year die from lack of access to safe drinking water.20 The United
Nations estimates that it would cost about $9 billion a year to provide safe drinking water for
everyone in the world. U.S. Christians spend $17 billion a year golfing and boating.21 Again,
what a wonderful chance to show God and the world that we care. We can cut back on things
that are not essential and use the money saved to rescue millions of lives.

But what if we don't? Will God say, “That’s OK, they enjoy golfing and boating. Let the
millions who die each year from contaminated water keep dying”? If this sounds ridiculous
that's because it is. This illustration hits close to home. Years ago golf was my life. I played
every chance I had and got down to a three handicap. About seven years ago I sold my clubs at a
garage sale. Some things are more important than golf.

Do we love God enough to cut back our hobbies to provide clean drinking water for His
world? “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me” (John
14:21).

Maybe saving the world could become our hobby! As businessman Phil Jemmett says of his
work in a Malawi village, “If people knew what it was about, if they knew how transformational
it could be, and if they knew how much fun it was, they would want to be involved.”

For $13 billion a year we could provide basic health care and nutrition for everyone in the
world. U.S. Christians spend $21 billion a year on cable and satellite TV.8

For $4 billion we could save many of the two million children who die each year from lack
of vaccinations. American Christians spend $4 billion a year on cosmetics.

For $3 billion we could save the half a million children who go blind each year from lack of
vitamin A in their diets. American Christians spend $3 billion a year on bottled water.

The examples could go on and on. We spend billions eating out at restaurants, billions on
magazines, billions on junk food, billions on movies, billions living in houses that are more than
we need, and billions driving cars that are nicer than necessary.

I hope by now you have no doubt we have plenty of resources to save millions of lives, and
that God has commanded us to do it.

Chapter Four

Bonded Labor

In order to fuel our compassion, I would like to expand on one aspect of world need mentioned
in the introduction: bonded labor.
 My sister is ten years old. Every morning at seven she goes to the bonded labor man, and every night at
nine she comes home. He treats her badly; he hits her if he thinks she is working slowly or if she talks to
the other children, he yells at her, he comes looking for her if she is sick and cannot go to work. I feel this
is very difficult for her. I don't care about school or playing. I don't care about any of that. All I want is to
bring my sister home from the bonded labor man. For 600 rupees I can bring her home -- that is our only
chance to get her back. We don't have 600 rupees . . . we will never have 600 rupees. - Lakshmi, nine-
year-old beedi (cigarette) roller, Tamil Nadu, India.22

Six hundred rupees is the equivalent of approximately $17. There are millions of children in
the world who toil countless hours in deplorable conditions for a few cents a day. When a
desperately poor family has a financial need such as a medical emergency, a funeral or even just
to put food on the table, they often have only one place to turn, the local money-lender whom
we might call a loan shark. He will lend them money in exchange for their child's labor.
Because they usually can't read the contract, they often don't know what they are agreeing to.
The wages are so low and the interest rate so high that the loan can virtually never be repaid.
All the money earned goes only to the interest payment. Some children work 12 to 14 hours a
day in horrendous conditions for years to pay off a $25 loan.

In the beedi (cigarette rolling) industry, the long hours spent hunched over the basket of tobacco causes
growth deformities, and the constant proximity to tobacco dust causes and exacerbates lung diseases.
In carpet weaving the occupational diseases are similar: the children sit in a cramped space all day long,
inhaling wool fibers and dust. As a result, the carpet weavers are prone to emphysema and tuberculosis.
The silver workers suffer frequent burns on their hands and arms, the leather workers are exposed to toxic
chemicals long banned in developed countries, and the gemstone polishers are subject to both cuts and toxic
contamination.22

At the time of the above report, Sangeetha, the ten year old girl, had been in bondage to a
beedi agent for one year in exchange for an advance of about $10. She worked fourteen hours
a day, six and a half days a week, and earned about 8 cents a day.22 What were you doing
when you were 10? What if you had been born Sangeetha? Did you earn the right to be born
where you were? The answers to these questions are found in the following passage:

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined
the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

Acts 17:26 (emphasis mine)

It is because of God’s grace that you were born in the U.S. Try to imagine your life if you
had been born Sangeetha. How do you feel in the morning as you walk to work? Through no
fault of your own, you are about to spend 14 hours crouched over a basket of tobacco. Your
hands and wrists will hurt, and you will be beaten if you roll cigarettes too slowly or talk to the
child sitting next to you. You may have a matchbook put under your chin, so that if it falls, the
manager will know you looked up and will punish you. You are likely to grow up deformed,
unable to live a normal life. You may actually be chained to the wall. Think further: if you
knew there were people in another country who could free you, what would you want them to
do? What if they choose not to free you? Jesus said,

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been
entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

Luke 12:48b

God has blessed the U.S. with more resources than any other civilization in history. He is
going to demand much from us. So why has God blessed us?

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every
occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

2 Corinthians 9:11

For $10 billion we could free millions of bonded laborers. U.S. Christians spend $100 billion
a year exchanging Christmas presents.13 Maybe we could include “setting the captives free” on
our next Christmas list. What do you think Jesus wants for His birthday?

Chapter Five

The Results of Obedience

Reaching the World

Evangelism and meeting the needs of the poor are not mutually exclusive, they are intricately
connected. I believe one of the best things we can do for world evangelism is to fulfill our
Biblical mandate to serve the needy.

Hy McEnnry, director of Child Evangelism Fellowship in New Orleans, quotes a Jewish

doctor saying, “There are no more agnostics in New Orleans.” After Hurricane Katrina,
Christians flooded the city with food, water, clean up supplies, labor and a shoulder to cry on. It
was obvious to everyone that Christians were the ones doing the work, the ones who cared. As a
result, people in New Orleans who were formerly not interested in the claims of Christ became
curious as to why Christians were so eager to help.

In some areas affected by the Tsunami of 2004, local Muslim officials began to ban Christians
from coming to serve because the Muslim people were saying, “The Christians are the only ones
who care.” The Bible predicted this response to kindness in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine
before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” As our good
deeds are seen, people will praise God.

Many people are worried about the rise of radical Islam. Abraham Lincoln said, “The best
way to destroy your enemy is to make him your friend.” There will always be radicals who hate
the United States and want to eliminate Christianity. But they will have a much harder time
attracting a following if Christians are saving the world from starvation and disease. This is not
just my idea,
If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink…Do not be overcome by
evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:20-21 (emphasis mine)

While researching world hunger on the internet, I came across an anti-Christian website. The
song Jesus Loves the Little Children was playing as pictures of starving, emaciated children
filled the screen. There was also a picture of a cross with the international “no” sign over it (the
red circle with a line through it). The text read, “He is your God, they are your rules, you go to
hell.” This atheist understands the Scriptures better than some Christians I know, and he is not
the only one. One of the most common excuses I hear from non-Christians about why they reject
Jesus is that Christians are hypocrites, especially in the way they use their finances.

Christians are a regular target of the mainstream media. They often criticize and ridicule what
we stand for. But even anti-Christians in the media would not be able to ignore Christians rising
up to end world poverty. “A city on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14b).

Another problem the church in America faces is that it has become so much like our culture,
there is no reason for people to be curious about us. Many churches believe making services
comfortable and entertaining will attract non-Christians. But why should that attract them? If
they want comfort and entertainment they can stay home, sit in their recliner and watch cable
TV. What if we gave them a different invitation?

What if instead of saying “Come, be comfortable and entertained,” we say, “Come save the
world with us?” That message would resonate with a whole generation of people who see the
church as irrelevant to real life.
 Maybe the tens of billions we spend each year on nicer church buildings, fancier technology
and more comfortable chairs would be better spent serving the poor. If we rise up and tackle
world poverty in Jesus’ name, the non-Christian world may once again begin to take us seriously.

Jesus said, “All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (John
13:35). Tertullian, about AD 200, quoted the non-Christians of his day as being amazed at the
Christian community: "See how they love one another . . . see how they are ready even to die for
one another." This was no exaggeration. Tertullian was writing at a time when many Christians
were being killed for their faith. He authored the famous quote, “The blood of the martyrs is the
seed of the church.”

Tertullian identified this outpouring of love as a key factor that led multitudes to Christ in the
first century. Although Christians in the U.S. ought to be willing to die for others, maybe we
could start with a willingness to give up some coffee, soft drinks, cable TV, and other
unnecessary things so we can save millions of lives.

Imagine this sentence in a high school textbook 50 years from now: “After millennia of
human suffering, extreme poverty was eliminated by Christians in the first three decades of the
21st century.” This is not pie in the sky. We have the resources to do it if we are willing.

The leper in Mark 1:40-41 came to Jesus and said, “If you are willing, you can make me
clean.” Jesus could make a similar statement to us. “If you are willing, you can save millions of
my beloved children.” Jesus was willing. “Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand
and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ He said, ‘Be clean!’ ” Will we be filled with compassion as
Jesus was and take action as He did?

Chapter Six

Success Stories

While searching for ministries to support in the Himalayas, my wife and I met three girls at an
orphanage. One of them was Pratima, whose story was told in the introduction. The others were
Ritu and Meena.
 Ritu was 3-1/2 years old when she was brought to the orphanage. She was in trauma from the
tragic death of her alcoholic father. He had abused her mother who, in desperation, poured
kerosene on him while he was passed out and set him on fire. At the Christian orphanage, Ritu
had difficulty sleeping at night due to the vivid memory of her father burning. With much
praying and fasting, Ritu was delivered from her trauma. Today, she is an intelligent and
spiritually sensitive girl who loves the Lord. Ritu has helped as a teaching assistant in a
Christian school and hopes to attend nurse’s training.

Meena was four years old when she came to the orphanage. Her father, Ram Kumar, had been
electrocuted and all four of his limbs were amputated. He came to Christ while recovering in the
local Christian hospital. Meena thrived at the orphanage and graduated with high honors. She is
currently taking local college classes and, like the other girls, would like to become a nurse.

In another part of India, a ministry invited us to a juvenile detention center where every
Friday they went to play cricket. During the game we learned that one of the boys was being
released. He had been found abandoned on a train when he was three years old, but now was too
old to stay at the detention center.

When James, our host, learned the boy was leaving with a prison guard, he immediately went
into action. He told us the boy would probably become a slave in a tea shop, a domestic servant,
or possibly forced into the sex industry.

James talked to the headmaster and insisted the boy be released to him. As we drove away
with the boy in the van, we tried, unsuccessfully, to learn his name. James asked two of his
adopted sons to get the boy some new clothes, check his head for lice, and let him shower. Later,
James asked if they had learned the boy’s name.

“It’s Uman,” they told us.

We replied, “Uman doesn’t sound like what he was trying to tell us in the van.”

“Uman is the new name we just gave him,” they said with pride. “His old name was bad. It
meant ‘the king of demons.’ His new one means ‘to abound.’ ”

Uman’s new name is symbolic of his new lease on life, a life in which he will be loved, fed
and have the chance to learn about Jesus.

What joy comes from seeing Pratima, Ritu, Meena, and Uman saved from a hopeless life and
even death itself, through the faithful labor and giving of God's people.

The Christian hospital, the orphanage and the school in these stories all have financial needs
that, if met, would allow them to help even more people. This is true for most of the other 25,000
Christian service organizations in the world: more resources would mean more lives saved.

If Pratima, Ritu, Meena and Uman can be saved, so can millions of others. Let’s get started!
 Chapter Seven

Are The Needs Too Great?

Remember the numbers: 30,000 children a day die from preventable poverty-related causes,
800 million people are malnourished, every few seconds another orphan is added to the already
143 million orphans, an estimated 246 million children suffer in the bonds of child labor and 121
million children around the world have no opportunity for education.

The response to such numbers is often to turn away and ask, “What can be done in the face of
such huge needs?”

The story is told of a young boy walking on a beach where hundreds of starfish had washed
up and were dying. One by one, he bent over, picked up a starfish and threw it back into the sea.
A man standing nearby mocked the boy saying, “You’re not really going to make a difference.
Most of these starfish are going to die.” In response, the boy picked up another starfish and
tossed it into the waves. “I made a difference to that one,” he said.

Now think about this: If the boy recruited hundreds of others to come to the beach and rescue
starfish, they could save nearly all of them.

Eighty percent of U.S. adults claim to be Christian, 160 million people. If you decided to
save the 11 million children who needlessly die each year, you will not get very far. But 160
million U.S. Christians can easily save 11 million children a year, if we decide to. Do all you
can, and ask every Christian you know to do all they can, and the job will get done!

The more I quote the “11 million children” number, the more numb to it I get. As the saying
goes, “A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.” We must see this as God sees
it, not as a statistic, but as 11 million separate tragedies, 11 million children He loves.

You may be skeptical that Christians can save tens of millions of lives. Pearl Buck once said,
“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible -- and
achieve it, generation after generation.”

Or to quote a more reliable source,

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

“I am the LORD, the God of all mankind.

 Is anything too hard for me?”

Jeremiah 32:26-27

The erroneous opinion that “it can’t be done” is the biggest obstacle we face in the fulfillment
of Jesus’ command to feed the hungry. As Paul said, “I can do all things through Him who
strengthens me.” If God wants it done, and He does, and if He has commanded us to do it, and
He has, won’t He give us the ability? He will!

Chapter Eight

Living It

The challenge of writing this booklet has been to ask myself how I am doing in the area of
living simply and giving generously. No one likes a hypocrite.

So I looked one by one at the discretionary items I have mentioned. I don’t drink coffee or
tea, don't have cable or satellite TV, eat out only a few times a year, currently drive modest
vehicles with over 100,000 miles, don't really take vacations, have no retirement savings, buy
most of my clothes at thrift stores, and don't have any costly hobbies. The item that convicted
me was soft drinks. I loved them and used to drink a lot of them before writing this booklet.
That has changed. Even this afternoon I walked by a soft drink machine, was thirsty, and had to
make a decision. As ridiculous as it sounds, it felt like it actually hurt to say no to myself and
walk away. The money I once spent buying soft drinks will enable me to feed and educate
another child.

I have a friend who is the vice-president of a bank. After becoming aware of the needs of the
world, he decided to sell his house and purchase one which cost less than half as much.
Hundreds of dollars per month became available that previously had gone to his mortgage,
property taxes and insurance. A few years later he did it again! I helped him fix up the
repossessed house he bought to make it livable. Hundreds more dollars per month became
available. He uses those funds to feed the hungry and get the Gospel to the ends of the earth. His
material possessions have decreased but his eternal rewards have multiplied.

As a banker he understands investment strategy. What kind of return can he expect from
downsizing his house twice and giving away the difference? Jesus said in Mark 10:29 that no
one who gives up houses or land for His sake will fail to receive 100 times as much. That’s a
10,000% return on his investment. He is a wise banker.

Another friend in southern Illinois, a former postal carrier, has given over $1 million to
missions. He lives very simply in a modest three bedroom house and drives an old truck. He
shatters the myth that one has to go on missions trips to get a heart for the world. He has given
a million dollars not because he has seen the mission field, but because he believes in obeying
the commands of the Bible to reach the ends of the world.

Let’s examine our lives and see how we can redirect some resources to what will count for
eternity.

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will
be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the
righteous.

Luke 14:13-14 (emphasis mine)

Chapter Nine

A New American Dream

We should be dreaming big because we have a big God. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to him
who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine...” Whatever you believe God is
capable of doing, He can do more than that.

My wife and I were in Chennai, India shortly after the Tsunami of 2004, looking for worthy
ministries to support. We talked with a group of 300 families at a refugee camp who had no food
and no one helping them. Everyday the men went into the city to look for work or scavenge for
food. If they had a good day they would eat that night, otherwise they would go hungry.

I shared with them Psalm 119:71, “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn
your decrees.” I sympathized with their suffering, but told them that if this great tragedy helped
them come to know Jesus as Savior, it would all be worth it.

After sharing the Gospel and praying for them, I knew we could not say, “Go, be warm and
well fed.” We went to an ATM and withdrew enough from our account to provide food for all
300 families for one week.
 We cooperated with a local church to buy the food in bulk, bag it and distribute it to the
people. Seeing the joy and gratitude on the people's faces as we distributed that food was one of
the greatest experiences of my life, a dream come true. The pastor said the food would open
many doors for them. They planned to start a service right there in the refugee camp.

What do we “get our kicks” from? Watching sports, fishing, making stained glass, or
decorating? What if we got our kicks from feeding hungry kids, providing anti-malarial bed nets
in rural Africa, or raising money for micro-loan programs to give the poor a hand-up in India?
These are things worth getting excited about, things that bring more than superficial, temporary
pleasure. They result in lasting and deep joy, as Jesus said in John 15:10-12,

If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's
commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and
that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved
you.

Complete joy can be yours! Just start obeying Jesus’ commands and save the lives of those
dear to His heart. And let me remind you again of the eternal aspect of the reward. God is
keeping an account for you in heaven. Paul told the Philippians that he was looking for what
might be “credited to their account.” To quote Randy Alcorn again, “You can’t take it with you,
but you can send it on ahead.”

Considering that God can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, are we
dreaming big enough? I can imagine the Church rising to the challenge and saving millions of
people both physically and spiritually. I pray you will dream with me and be part of the
“Mustard Seed Solution.”

Chapter Ten

The Mustard Seed Solution

The Mustard Seed Solution is based on the concept that many hands make light work.
Approximately 160 million adults in America claim to be Christian. If each one of us would
increase our giving to ministries who are effectively serving the poor by just $7 per month, we
could feed every starving person in the world, educate every child currently not in school, and
provide safe drinking water for the millions who die from lack of it.

Based on what we spend on coffee, soft drinks, cable TV, eating out, over-eating, diets,
cosmetics, movies and other non-essentials, it is clear that nearly all of us can find a way to free
up another $7 per month.
 The Mustard Seed Solution is asking every Christian in America to redirect an additional $7
per month of discretionary spending to organizations who are doing an excellent job serving the
poor in Jesus’ name.

I pray you will take action today. Thirty thousand children will die today, and tomorrow,
and the next day, on and on until something is done! Today is the day to begin to reduce and
eventually eliminate this tragedy.

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him,
how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue
but with actions…

I John 3:17-18 (emphasis mine)

If the love of God is in you, take action. As Albert Einstein said, “The world is a dangerous
place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”

Getting the Message Out

In 2005, Christian organizations spent over $1 billion fund-raising. Imagine what could be
done with $1 billion to feed the hungry and spread the Gospel. One ministry alone, whose name
you would recognize, spent $73 million advertising in 2005. Because Good Measure
International is passionate about keeping fund-raising costs as low as possible, and because word
of mouth is the cheapest and most effective way to get a message out, I would like to ask for
your help.

Instead of spending a huge amount of money on a marketing campaign, we would like you to
share this booklet with every Christian you know. You can play a significant role in a movement
that could save countless lives.

I once gave a book on frugal living to a pastor I had just met. A few months later I was
invited to speak at his church. A man from that congregation has since given almost 2 million
dollars to a ministry that I recommended. One 55 cent book given to a pastor led to $2 million in
life saving gifts. Who knows what God will do with the booklets you give.

At a conference in Texas, I met with a missionary from an area of China where the church is
experiencing explosive growth. Thousands of house churches are being planted and hundreds of
thousands are coming to Christ. They have a simple rule: when someone comes to Christ, they
are expected to share their new faith with ten friends and family members in the next few days.
No wonder they have explosive growth; they are believing God, taking action and multiplying.
Take Action

I challenge you to join The Mustard Seed Solution today. I also challenge you to order at
least10 free copies of this book and give them to Christian friends within a week of receiving
them in the mail. Although giving a hard copy to friends and asking them to read it is more
effective, you can also send an email to friends challenging them to read it online at
www.goodmeasure.org.

Daniel 11:32b states, “The people who know their God will display strength and take action”
(NASB emphasis mine). In the last five years over 50 million children have needlessly died. We
must begin today to end this tragedy.

If the Holy Spirit moves in the hearts of American Christians when they see the information
in this booklet, we can begin the process of saving millions of lives in just a few short months. If
every person who reads this booklet increases their giving by at least $15 and finds two others to
do the same within two weeks, that will generate an additional one billion dollars in the first year
alone.

Even those who aren’t Christians understand the importance of taking action with regard to
serving the poor. As Gandhi said, “The difference between what we do and what we are capable
of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.”

Let’s begin to close the gap between what we do and what we are capable of doing, and as a
result, solve most of the world’s problems in Jesus’ name.

Chapter Eleven

Mary and Andrea

Mary was exhausted from weeping. Her once bright and beautiful little Andrea was now
wasting away in her bed and near death. The medicine that could save her life cost only a few
pennies. But Mary had nothing, and in her country, there is no aid to the poor.

Near Andrea’s one room house was a soft drink machine that was kept busy day and night.
Mary decided to stand nearby and beg for the few coins that would save her daughter's life. As
people approached and began to dig in their pockets for some change, Mary explained her
plight. Some people ignored her, bought their soft drink and hurried away. But most painful for
Mary were those who heard and understood her story, thought for a moment, and even then,
chose the drink over her daughter's life. After pleading for hours with dozens of people, no one
had given her anything. As she neared the breaking point, her sister came with the news,
“Andrea is dead.”

How do you think Mary felt? How would you feel? What do you think of the people at the
soft drink machine? Would you have given Mary your spare change? You can!

You probably recognized this story as a parable in which Mary represents God the Father,
Andrea is the 30,000 children who die every day from preventable poverty-related causes, and
the soft drink buyers are U.S. Christians. With the money we spend on soft drinks, coffee, cable
TV, golfing, boating, eating out, over-eating, dieting, sporting events, movies, and other
discretionary items, we can save tens of millions of God’s children. We are standing at the
machine with coins in our hands. I personally believe God, like Mary, is pleading with us to
make the right choice.

Some people say that God doesn’t need our money: “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.”
Will you really blame God for these tragedies? He has given us enough “cattle” to feed the
world and has commanded us to do it. We have to decide whether to share what He’s given us
with the dying or spend it on ourselves. “He who is kind to the poor, lends to the Lord…”
(Proverbs 19:17 emphasis mine).

Let’s rise up and become known as the generation that saved the world. You can start by
eliminating one unnecessary item from your life and giving the money you save to a worthwhile
organization. The feeling you get saving a child from a hopeless life will more than compensate
for the loss of whatever you give up.

Do you wonder if you can do it? If you knew your next sip of coffee would instantly kill you,
you would never drink coffee again. If you knew your next step on a golf course would kill you,
you would never play golf again. If you knew the next time you turned on the TV you would
instantly die, you would never watch TV again. If you could give up these things to save your
own life, you can give up something to save the life of another.

Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his
cross daily and follow me.”

Luke 9:23

Conclusion
Take Action

Considering the plight of the poor, the strongly worded commands of God concerning the
poor and the resources God has lavished on the United States, I pray that you will determine to
increase your giving to ministries who are working effectively among the poor. Some of you
will simply be able to start giving more. Other will have to choose an item of discretionary
spending to cut in your budget.

One excuse people often use for not giving more is that they are worried about whether their
gifts are being used properly. It is wise to be careful about the ministries we choose to support.
Unfortunately there are dishonest people who take advantage of other’s generosity or are simply
not effective at what they do. If you already know of a ministry working effectively among the
poor you can direct your additional giving to them. If you would like to learn about ministries
that Good Measure International has carefully researched and is currently working with, you can
visit our web site at www.goodmeasure.org.

Good Measure International has a multi-media stewardship presentation we would love to

share with your congregation. In music and message we present a positive challenge for
believers to give more generously to their local church and to world missions. We do not ask for
funds for our own organization. A sample video and song can be seen at www.goodmeasure.org.

Discussion Questions
Chapters 1-5

1. What are some ways God has allowed you to serve the needy? How did that service make
you feel?
2. Are these figures about the condition of the world a surprise to you? Which statistic is the
saddest for you?
3. Did you start to feel defensive when reading about some of the ways we spend our
resources? Why or why not?
4. Which Biblical command struck you the most?
5. What hinders the church in America from doing more in relation to serving the poor?
6. Is the vision of nearly eliminating world poverty by every Christian giving $7 more per
month realistic? If so, what would it take to make it happen?

7. What impact would it have on the world if Christians began a radical campaign to
eliminate extreme poverty?
Chapters 6-12

1. How have you seen God use a ministry to give hope to someone in a desperate situation?

2. What was your favorite non-Biblical quote from the booklet? JFK, Gandhi, Einstein,
Alcorn, Buck?

3. Do you think the average Christian believes the task of serving the poor is too big to
handle? Were you convinced that we could save additional millions? What will it take to
make it happen?

4. Does the thought of “treasure in heaven” excite you? What do you think about eternal
rewards being part of our motivation for serving the poor?

5. Do you know of any inspiring examples of sacrificial giving?

6. Have you decided on a practical application of the material in this booklet?

End Notes

1. United Nations Development Programme, 2005 Report, pg. 2

2. ibid. pg. 24

3. ibid. pg. 24

4. Mark Connolly. Children on the Brink (Diane Pub Co, 2004), p. 7.

5. www.unicef.org/protection/index_childlabour.html
6. www.thp.org/reports/decline.htm
7. UNDP Report 1998, pg. 37 Table 1.12.
8. All figures in the booklet concerning amounts Christians spend are probably low. They were calculated by
discovering the amount spent by all Americans on a particular item and dividing by 3. George Barna and others
have determined that there is no discernible difference between Christians and Non-Christians in their spending
habits. (see Christian Consumerism and debt at http://www.generousgiving.org/page.asp?sec=28 &page=276) I
have assumed for the purpose of calculating these numbers that only one third of Americans are true Christians,
though 80% claim to be. Therefore, if Americans spend 30 billion dollars on something, then $10 billion of that is
by Christians. Americans spend $64 billion on cable TV (www.onetvworld.org/?module=
displaystory&story_id=1154 &format=html) so one-third of that is $21.3 billion.
9. UNDP Report 1998, pg. 37 Table 1.12.
10. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Feb/28/bz
 /FP602280315.html
11. UNDP Report 1998, pg. 37 Table 1.12.
12. http://www.ameribev.org/about/industrybasics.asp
13. http://www.shopthenet.org/pressroom_96.shtml

14. www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm
15. http://weightloss.about.com/cs/toppicks/a/aa 040804a.htm
16. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/economic_
consequences.htm
17. http://complianceheadquarters.com/IRA/IRA_Articles
/11_29_05.html
18. http://www.progressive.org/?q=mag_camp0805
19. http://www.mtn.org/mca/factspgs/business.html
20. www.water.org/crisis/disease.htm
21. http://golfcyp.com/cyp/cyp.asp?HID=234&ACT=5

And http://www.economist.com/world/na /PrinterFriendly.cfm?Story_ID=2501977

22. http://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/India3.htm

Thank you for taking the time to read this booklet. For more information about the author
and Good Measure International, see www.goodmeasure.org. If you would like a free hard
copy, please email us at info@goodmeasure.org.