EDIT 22 Sep 2020: added a section on activism.
EDIT 2 Apr 2021: changed emphasis away from "This is a response to How Can We Love?".
EDIT 22 July 2021: minor addition.
EDIT 25 Oct 2022: added a section on "domestic missions".
EDIT 30 Jul 2024: added a note about Modest Needs, due to the story about its founder embezzling from it.
Let's say you are motivated either by the MSLN motivational structure, or by Jesus'
parable of the talents / minas,
or other
Biblical passages, or even perhaps by secular arguments like Peter
Singer's Drowning Child Illustration. If this motivation is new to you, the circle
of your concern has widened and/or the intensity of your commitment to
helping has increased. What practical thing can you do, to act on that
motivation? This post contains some basic ideas. I haven't tried
all of the ideas here and I'm not very experienced in anything other
than being a writer and having lived my particular life story, so
take all of this with a grain of salt.
First I want to say that desire is more important than effect, in
the long run. Good desire will lead to effectiveness, but a focus
on effectiveness that neglects desire will leave you dead inside, and
you will likely lose effectiveness and find it difficult to motivate
yourself.
We think that desires are invalid without practical effect, but
desires are valuable in themselves, and will naturally lead to effects
when possible.
You have to safeguard your ability to desire. Perhaps at the very
root of you, no one but you is responsible for your desires. But much
of your mind can become discouraged or broken by the people you associate
with, or the people you lack in your life who would have helped you if
you knew them. Finding people who genuinely agree with your values is
probably the most helpful thing in this area.
If you would like some suggestions of things to do, here are some below.
I expect to update this page at some point, so check back to see what's
new.
--
First of all, if you care about all the people on earth, and want
to do something for them, you may think you should do something that
involves going to another country. Perhaps being a missionary or
working in the international development industry.
If you're good at the skills needed, you can go into
medicine or agriculture in developing countries. If you have organizational
abilities, you can be a program administrator. All of these things, working
for a charity. You might make a good fundraiser for a charity. You
may find work from a government agency. You can go to school for
development.
I've heard from one development insider that they don't like
random people coming into their field who don't know what they're doing.
So that's something to think about.
Some development charities are effectively forms of agricultural
or medical missions. In addition, you can work in a purely cultural
way, in missions. You can do altruistic things from a Christian
perspective, living in another country.
Being a missionary is not necessarily glamorous. You may have to
work a day job that has little or nothing to do with ministry. You
may have to raise support (mail or call or hang out with a lot of
people to encourage donations).
People don't always like what foreigners do in their
countries, and this applies to both development and missions.
Being competent and culturally sensitive is important, and something
you should try to learn from others instead of messing up yourself,
if you can help it.
I wrote a book a while ago called How Can We Love?. It
contains a section on "devastation" -- being broken down in a way
that connects you with reality, seeing your brokenness, and the world's
brokenness, and then seeing how to act. If you get what "devastation"
is about, that's a good sign as far as being able to execute these
roles. A spirit of sobriety, even if your work involves connecting
with people, which can favor warmth.
One thing the roles have in common is being able to relate to
a culture you were not born into. This is something not everyone
can do effectively.
I studied international agricultural development at UC Davis and
wanted to teach people better farming techniques. I'm more of a
teacher by temperament. But I found out partway through that they
really wanted program administrators. I finished the degree, but
might have chosen something different if I'd known. You can save
yourself a mistake like that by figuring out in advance what
people in your prospective field actually do. Maybe see if you
can interview someone who is working in that field.
(But then I looked up the two classmates whose names I could
remember and saw that one of them works as an "agricultural
research and training coordinator", and another one had been
associated with a charity that teaches farmers better methods to
use in small-scale agriculture -- the same thing that I
wanted to do with my degree all along. It's possible that I
could have worked for them, as either a teacher or teacher
trainer, or perhaps there are other charities doing the same
thing. The takeaway lesson for you from this paragraph may be
the same as from the one before: look around, yourself, when
considering career options. The person who told me that the
IAD degree was for program administration and not teaching
farmers was my major advisor.)
There can be risks to working in developing countries. Health
risks, risks from crime, political risks, etc.
If I were talking to an 18-year-old who seemed to have the same
basic interests as my 18-year-old self (interested in development
or perhaps ag missions, going to a developing country), I would say
"find an organization to learn from". It might be better to
get hands-on experience at a low level in an actual organization
(if they'll have you) before getting a degree. You'll have a
better understanding of reality when you go to get your education,
have more hooks to hang your learning on.
(If someone involved in missions or development happens to read this and
wants to add to or correct these thoughts, please do so in the comments.)
--
I think in general it is best for people to solve their own
problems. So it is better if people in developing countries
(and developed countries) work on their own countries or regions.
Nowadays, culture is globalizing more and more, and I can see the
possibility of my writing (such as this post, or How Can We Love?)
being read by English speakers outside the developed world. I do think
there's a role for helping other cultures through roles like development
and missions. On the other hand, sometimes when you help someone, it
improves their agency, and sometimes it doesn't. So that's something
to consider. I think it could be good to connect people in different
countries in a common altruistic culture, to talk about these issues
and share inspiration.
--
An idea that combines missions and working in your own culture is
to go as a sort of missionary to people groups in your own culture that
could be benefited by what you know or believe. I have some experience
"going to" atheist cultures -- a "shining moment" was when one atheist
said something like "You really care" in reference to me being a Christian
who took the Problem of Evil seriously. It's vulnerable and lonely work
and you will be influenced by the people you go to. (And I think it's
best if it's vulnerable, lonely (in that you are outnumbered), and
influences you that way.) It could help with things like political
polarization, or help reduce divides between different Christian groups
and between them and non-Christian groups.
Because it's analogous to foreign missions, the caveats mentioned above
in that section about "devastation", cultural sensitivity, etc. also
apply.
(This could be called "domestic missions", I guess.)
--
Another role for "devastation" type people could be political
leader, or some other kind of leader (business, academia, etc.).
Leaders need to be able to take on stress and risk,
have integrity but also know how to be effective with other people,
be willing to take a fall for what's right, and... I think there
are other things I'm not thinking of (this is an area I might
explore more later).
I would say, do this if you're willing to live a life like
Jesus (potentially being in the public eye, potentially working
to exhaustion, potentially having a kind of Gethsemane or
crucifixion). And, at the same time, you still need to be able
to be into effectiveness, organizational skills, have command
of facts, and be sober. It's certainly not for everyone.
It's not uncommon for political leaders to go through many years
of being more or less an apprentice. You have to become
acculturated to the system (and yet not really acculturated) in
order to change it.
A business leader needs to be able to run a business. Academic
leaders generally need to have academic careers. Military leaders
need to work through the military. There are already a lot of
resources available on leadership, and I haven't read much of them.
But I may be interested in thinking and writing more in that area,
at some point.
(If you are in a position of leadership and wish to add to or
correct the above, please do so in the comments.)
--
If you get involved in politics, you might do so at the level
of activism, as a political foot-soldier or organizer. I think this could
be a good thing if you keep the attitude of "devastation" in
mind. Politics is like war, a way of applying force to other
people.
Just as it makes sense for there to be people who work within
military culture to make it better, so there should be people
who work within political culture to make it better.
--
You can try to "earn-to-give". This is a term taken from the
effective altruist movement (who might make an interesting study for
people interested in the question of what to do with their lives
or resources).
The basic idea of "earn-to-give" is that you earn as much
money as you can, and then spend a modest amount on yourself,
and either give the difference now to worthy charities, or save
your money to give later (perhaps in your estate), or a mixture of
the two. Figuring out worthy charities is an interesting task,
and the effective altruists have some secular suggestions. If
you want a Christian perspective, I know of the National Christian
Foundation, which talks about giving -- don't know much about it,
though.
If you work at a job and get paid a lot for it, it's society's way
of telling you "we really wanted this job done, and you did it".
If you can do a good job at a high-paying job, you may be doing
good by building the economy. And then you can also give from
your high salary. The jobs that you can get that pay the most
are likely ones that use some or all of your talents.
Some jobs harm more people than they help, but most are beneficial
at least by helping to build the economy. If you do your job well,
you're providing more value for what people are paying you. Some
of that value trickles up to your employer or their shareholders.
But some of it "trickles out" to your customers or clients.
Providing more benefit for the same price, or for a lower price,
helps with domestic poverty, an issue which can distract from
global poverty if unresolved.
--
Out of whatever money you do earn, or have, you can give.
You can try the biblical tithe of giving 10% of what you earn or
spend in a year. I've tried this, and have given to World Bible
School, Oxfam, Modest Needs, GiveDirectly, and Homeless Empowerment
through Art and Leadership-San Diego recently.
(Worldwide House Church has a
list of charities
you might find useful.)
If you can't give 10%, you can give less. Even a token amount,
like $50 a year. (Which, if you multiply by the 100 million lowest-earning
Americans comes out to $5 billion a year.) This helps tell yourself
"I am the kind of person who gives", and if you ever end up with
more money, you can give more.
30 July 2024: The founder of Modest Needs was accused of
embezzling $2.5 million from the charity. According to
these unofficial calculations, that added up to about 21% of revenue.
I still think the idea of Modest Needs is good (giving emergency
money to people to keep them from falling into worse poverty),
but even good charity ideas can be implemented by dishonest people.
Charities always involve overhead, so that if you give $100, maybe
$20 to $30 will go to expenses, and only $70 or $80 will reach
the people you're trying to reach. Corruption can be seen as
"overhead" as well -- in other words, just because there is the
chance that a charity is being embezzled from doesn't necessarily
take away from the good that it does. It does good even though
it is corrupt, more good the less corrupt it is. So, better to give
to charities that aren't corrupt, but absolute perfectionism with
charities means you can only give to people you know personally
(where you, in effect, administer the money and incur overhead),
which may limit your effectiveness.
--
Another possible thing to pursue is art. Some artists have to
live the life of Jesus. Most don't, don't attain that level of
celebrity. (Or they do live the life of Jesus, but in relative
obscurity.) Most never become popular.
Art is a burden. So if you have the burden, what do you do with
it? One thing you can try to do is to make the best art you can.
You can contribute to a scene. Your art can help change the background
mood of the culture, and this change may reap big dividends in terms of
people becoming more alive. One need that might need to be met is,
what kind of art is helpful to people in adversity? Specifically,
what kind of art can be helpful in ways that art doesn't do
as well at in the current culture. I would say (in 2020), with
a little bit of inaccuracy, that we're good at making music that
helps you escape, or live through your feelings as a "small person",
but not as much at making music that helps people get to work. A
long time ago, marches were popular. That exact form may not work
now (and the vibe of the "march-like" activity of that time period had
problems, so it may be just as well), but what's something that's
similarly invigorating, helping people work? That would be one
aesthetic challenge. Others could involve trying to make
music that helps people become holy. (Music just being one
example.)
As an artist, you starve for money, but most essentially, you
can starve for an audience. It is good to try to build
scenes. If
you can connect enough people to each other, the fact that you
connected them probably predisposes them to take in your art. You
can make art specifically in order to bring people together. (I've
seen an art collective in Southern California try that, called "Just
Tryna Make Friends".)
--
You can also try to build
scenes, even if you aren't an artist. You
could try to be a traditional church planter, or you could try to connect
unchurched Christians to each other, outside the traditional church. Or
you can find a secular affinity with which to connect people.
I have more thoughts about Christian scenes, which I hope to remember
to write about.
22 July 2021: One thing you can do as a church is sell your building
and meet as a house church or network of house churches, and then give
the money to people who need it more.
--
You may be a thinker. Like art, being a thinker is a burden. So again,
how can you use that? Maybe I shouldn't tell you how, because you
can figure that out, as a thinker, and need to go your own way. It's
important for there to be thinkers who put God first, who are also
altruistic.
--
You can try to build "friendship skills". There are some skills which
people who are "really good friends" have. For instance, therapist,
social worker, caregiver, teacher, life coach... To become a professional
in any of these fields may be too much for you (or it may not be). If it
is, then you may still benefit by learning some of the skills of some
or all of these roles. Then you will be better equipped to handle the
(fairly likely) event that you have to take these roles on in an informal
way. If you are an older person with some experience in these areas,
you can teach them.
The better your skills are, the more you can help your friends, or
find new ones.
(Translating (for instance) "therapist skills that work in a therapy
situation" to "therapist skills that work in a friendship situation" may
require some thought and care.)
--
"Friendship skills" has a natural continuity with "family skills", like
parenting or being a child or sibling, and they can be approached in a
similar way.
--
In any role, developing your own trustworthiness is good, so that you
are a reliable person. You can end up spending a long period of your
life developing trustworthiness and self-trust, just to enable you to go
out and be effective without betraying people. There's some danger in
becoming self-focused in working on yourself. But there's value in
desiring to be someone who is trustworthy, and sometimes working on
that.
Trustworthiness has a big overlap with holiness. If you are truly
holy, you will be trustworthy, at least in having pure intentions. If
you are truly trustworthy, you direct people toward the goal of human
development, which is to become holy, set apart to God. That will be
your goal, and you will have gone a certain way down that path. If
your intentions are impure, you will betray someone.
Holiness in yourself is sometimes found by seeking it directly, but
more often by seeking something outside yourself, by not being self-
focused.
--
You can pray. Prayer is a helpful element in all of the above, because
God cares more about people than you do, and you are not God. God can
help you care. In the end, the altruism that matters most is to connect
people to God. So you should connect yourself to him.
Prayer is sometimes effective in ways that you can see. It's not
likely that if you pray there will be a miraculous rain in a drought-stricken
place, because of your prayer. But someone might be struck by the fact of
drought and get involved in helping people in drought-stricken places
because of prayer. (That's what I expect, as a contemporary person. I
think it's possible that God does not, or cannot, act in the most obvious
ways in our time. But it does seem that God is limited by our faith --
which I think means that if you choose to approach God, and God chooses
to approach you, you may develop a relationship through which his power
can flow into the world.)
Prayer can perform the impossible, like keeping you true to your
calling.
--
Scene building and friendship/family skill building work hand in hand
and along with giving something to charity, and prayer, are things
that just about any person can pursue to some extent. They support
the work that more direct helpers do, in addressing issues around
the world.
For instance, someone growing up in a culture where it's expected that
you do something, and one thing you might do is work in the development
industry, will go that way instead of into business or academia, which
might have been the default paths. The scene is where the culture is,
so someone has to build that scene. Or someone whose life is rough or
undernourished might not make it into an altruistic career path for a
long time, cutting back on their long-term effectiveness. But
friendship skill-building can make it so that the people around them
aren't as bad for them, or are more good for them, and they can cope
or grow better themselves. Earn-to-give can fund charities or missions.
Prayer supports a climate of trusting concern.
--
One important thing that most or all of the above roles have some
bearing on is dealing with long-term or future issues. Here are a
few things to think about: AI (technological unemployment, or even
transformative AI), climate change. There are big problems like
political / cultural polarization. Racism, sexism, and whatever
other cultural problems. And there may be other things to add to
the list.
--
One thing I think is true about many lists is that they can be
added to, and should not be seen as exhaustive. So if you think
of something to try that's not on this list, it could be a good
idea.
