Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
    who conduct their affairs with justice.

Last week I introduced the overview of our community redemption plan.  The first thing I said bears repeating:  Knit in the hearts of all human beings is a desire to give their children better than they had.  More love, more security, more significance, and be more of an impact to the world they live in.  Everyone, at some time in their life, needs a little help.  Many people in our communities today can afford to rent but to get over the hurdle and buy a house seems unattainable.  They are in a struggle for their lives and their children’s, and worse yet may not even recognize it.  The bondage of poverty gets a hold on a life and seems almost impossible to break, alone.

Imagine for a moment if there was a way to help a family, single parent, or someone go from being a renter dreaming of owning a house to actually owning a house.  Imagine that you can do this and make money, without hurting or taking advantage of someone.  Is it possible?  Yes, it is possible to do this, make a very good return, and help people in the process.    You can be the one to help people break out of that bondage and move from being renter to owner.  Transforming not only their life but the legacy that lives beyond their life.  On the other side of the hurdle something incredible happens.  No longer are they filling a bucket that leaks, now the biggest hole in the bucket has been plugged.  Equity is being built for them, not their landlord.  Now their life, family, and community all benefit.  Imagine being able to be a part of that.  Playing a small part in impacting generations with the imprint of God’s love and freedom.  That is awesome and worthwhile.

This week I would like to discuss foundation for it all: Investing in People.

Far too often we think giving aid is helping.  This can be confusing if you only look at the outward appearance.  You and I, or you could say, all people have needs on multiple levels.  If our needs, on all levels, are not met then we experience life that is out of balance.  Most people know something is wrong but are not really sure how to fix it.  People are made up of a physical body, this is what we see in the natural.  People are more than just their body though.  We are also made up of a soul and spirit.  These are the parts that our natural eyes cannot see.  Your mind is the best way to think of your soul.  It is you – your thoughts, secrets, emotions, feelings – it’s who you are.  Your spirit is the life God breathed into you.  When it leaves you no longer exist.  This is also where God, who is a Spirit, talks to us, directs us, communes with us.  People have physical, mental, & spiritual needs.  If they are not addressed then we go through life out of balance.  The longer we ignore needs the more out of balance life becomes.  This is the wheel of life.  This is why some people just seem to glide through life and others are like a vehicle the cartoon character Goofy would drive with square wheels.

Well, when we go to help people and we only observe the physical, or outward, need then we are helping in that area but we are actually adding to the imbalance.  WE MUST address all levels of need to actually help a person not go through life like goofy with square wheels.

This is where I draw a distinction between giving and investing.  They are two different things.  When you give it is gone, when you invest it grows.  We certainly need to give, but we need to invest, not just give.  You can give a man fish and feed him for a day, or invest by teaching a man to fish and feed him for life.

Let’s discuss how to invest in people?  The first thing a starving man wants is a sandwich, but he actually needs to change the way he thinks.  Regularly people struggling to make ends meet think that if they only had more money,  if they could win the lottery, then they would be ok.  The reality is most people who win the lottery are broke a few years later.  That is because they needed to change the way they think so they know how to use and steward money.  Money is simply a tool.  If a carpenter burns his hammer to keep warm one night he ends up having harder time  driving nails the next day because he consumed his tool.  We often treat money the same way because we don’t understand what its purpose is.  We need to change the way we think so we understand the tools we have and how to use them.

Remember the starving man, I guarantee the last thing he wants to hear is someone telling him that he needs to change the way he thinks.  Until he eats he will not have ears to hear anything.  Give him a sandwich, but don’t stop there.  Think about the wheel of life – his body needs to eat, his soul needs to think differently, his spirit needs to be aligned with his purpose here.  I can tell you with certainty that his purpose was not to beg for sandwiches, but I also know that on the journey with a wheel severely out of balance sometimes we end up where we never desired to go.

The engine that drives our Community Redemption Plan is investing in people.  The first step in the plan is a safe place to live.  A place that is clean, repaired, and safe.  A home.  This meets the basic physical need of shelter.  The next step is an opportunity to buy the home.  If you can rent, then you can buy.  This is a drastic paradigm shift in thinking.  The initial reaction is that’s impossible.  It’s not, we can help.  Remember people need to change the way they think?  Just giving someone a house would not help them, it would magnify the flat spot on their wheel of life.  We are giving an opportunity to earn it.  This is where people learn to change their thinking.  This gives them control over their lives.  If they want to buy the house then they have the opportunity to do so.  They will have to care for the house, pay rent on time, and in short not violate their rental agreement.  Their actions determine their opportunities.  This feeds the spirit God has placed within every person — they see a way to quench the desire knit in their heart for a better life than their parents and a better life for their children.  In a short time their mindset changes from renter to owner.  The fruit of investing in people.

The details of how this is possible will be coming over the next few weeks.  Thank you for taking the time to read this, I look forward to your comments and questions.  Please share this with others that may have interest.  Remember the greatest investment we can ever make is in people.  It will transform the world.