What will a little money do? I’ve been asking that question myself but first, the meaning of the word, “little”, must be established. A “little” money to me would be less than $5. To one of the richest men in the world such as Warren Buffet, a “little” money may mean less than $10,000. So, let’s bring the meaning down to the level that I believe the average person would understand and ask the question like this: “What would $5 do in the world today?”
I looked up the price of Starbucks coffee and found that $5 or less will buy about all of their drinks including coffees, Mochas, Lattes, or Frappuccinos. For $5 you can buy a Whopper hamburger at Burger King with a little change leftover, or a Big Mac at McDonald’s. $5 will buy a gallon of milk in most grocery stores and at current prices, $5 will put about 3 gallons of gasoline in your car so you could drive an average of say, 100 miles. However, in a different culture such as India, $5 can feed a family for several days.
The focus of our ministry is Ghana, West Africa, providing study materials and curriculum for Bible schools. Covenant Messenger Ministries has been active in Ghana for 20 years or more and God has been very kind to this ministry by enabling us to assist many pastors and laypeople to learn more of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For many years I have had a burden on my heart for the people of India. In the 1970’s I worked for a local firm in charge of importing thousands and thousands of goods, mostly handmade, from around the world but much of it came from India. Through much correspondence with exporters explaining their life in general, I gained a respect and particular love for the people of India and especially of the poor who labored to make handcrafted items for very little wages. I was not born again at that time but felt I was helping the poor in purchasing their goods by the thousands.
Today, I see the situation in an entirely different “light”, the light of the Gospel. Today a very simple phrase of scripture, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) compels me to help the poor as much as possible and it is so easy to do. Giving up $5, $10, or more to help prevent someone suffering from hunger is easy for me when I regard the many times in the past that I received from others when I was in need and believe me when I say, there were many, many times. Others gave to me without regard of receiving back because I had nothing to give except my gratitude.
Since those days of need, I have learned that God not only blesses the receiver with the gift, He also blesses the giver for their sacrificial giving. God looks at our heart and will know our motivation for giving any time we help someone. Do we bless others because we know it pleases God or do we bless others for self-recognition by our peers? The former is the perfect will of God but the latter is the deception of satisfying “self”. It’s better to keep the money than to give it to someone with the intention of gain for ourselves.
So, with all of that said, I would like you to see in the photos below what a little money can do. The vegetables, rice, and eggs you see in the photos were purchased by two pastors, Rev. Cornelius and Pastor Raj (not his real name but because of persecution of Christians in his area has asked not to reveal his real name) in the early days of April 2020 and distributed to the poor in their area. The food you see was bought from offerings received by C.M.M. and forwarded on to India. I might add that except for a small fee for the wiring the money, 100% was given to them.
Take a look at the photos and please consider giving a little so we can continue to bless the poor of India. God bless you as you do.
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