Welcome to How to Give Back

Despite the name, this site is less about answers than it is about asking the right questions.

My goal is to lift up the questions we all feel in our hearts. The questions that maybe we don't ask our family or friends or co-workers. Why me? How did I end up with so much, when others have so little? What did I do to deserve the blessings, and riches, and opportunities I have?

How often we forget how fortunate we are. If you're reading this, you are literate (37% of those in low-income countries are not). You have access to technology (86% of the world doesn't). You have enough leisure time to spend on sites like this. And you have enough mental capacity to be curious and thoughtful about your world.

When my son was about 10 years old, he complained one day, one time too often, that life was not fair. Who knows, maybe he hadn't gotten the latest video game as quickly as he wanted, or something else equally terrible. And I reminded him that, indeed, life is not fair. If it were fair, really fair, he would live in a place where he had no shoes, or no chance for an education, or maybe he would be working 10 hours a day for something to eat, instead of standing at the refrigerator door choosing among the overly abundant options. Life is horribly unfair, and he and I, and you, have landed on the side of it that is probably more than we deserve.

So this site is about asking what we do with that, and why it's so hard for us to remember just how blessed we are, and why it's so hard for us to turn that from discomfort into positive action.

How do you give back? Or, rather, how do we know we should give back? What is it that changes us to the thankful version of, “Life isn't fair.”

Can we ask each other? And by asking, can we make it different?

Let's find out.

 

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Comments

  • 3/3/2007 9:50 PM Lynne wrote:
    "how do we know we should give back?" That's easy--"to whom much has been given, much shall be required." If I have been blessed, it is not due to any particular merit of my own. I have a responsibility to use my gifts for God's purposes. There is a part of His plan for which He has uniquely qualified and equipped me. That applies to each of us.
    Reply to this
  • 3/7/2007 5:41 PM DZ wrote:
    I have been blessed and have an ideal life and family. However, there is something deep inside in the way I, and many others, are wired that is pushing me to do more for others who are less fortunate. Its more than just giving money or turning to government for solutions. The government is just not the answer. I am looking for ways to use my meager God given talents and time beyond self to do something about the dysfunction, despair and anger that is all around our city. Why should I have such an ideal life when others are sinking. I realize that when I assess how I spend my time, its not usually benefiting the people I am increasingly concerned about. I am trying to figure out the how and why.
    Reply to this
    1. 5/7/2007 12:36 PM Mike Hayden wrote:
      I work with many ministries and non proftis in the Milwaukee area. If you could design the ideal scenario for you to allow God to use your talents and time what would it be?
      Reply to this
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