Written by Mr Yak, on December 29, 2014

Posted in Blog,

How to change the world

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this phrase. It is attributed to Gandhi but, in fact, there is no proof that he ever said this. It sounds really great in theory, but changing the world is a big task. How does someone actually change the world? A simple Google search will bring you to a wikiHow page that gives you three simple options for changing the world. Bing, bang, boom, and you’ve changed the world. Let’s investigate these 3 methods and see if they position us for world change.

Option 1: Help humanity. I wouldn’t argue with this. In reality, I am advocating for people changing the world through helping humanity. However, I don’t think the suggestions they give in this section would actually change the world. Volunteering and donating blood and organs are amazing things, and could save a life, but they won’t change the world. I think we should be involved in these things but for the purposes of this article, it is insufficient.

Option 2: Help protect and preserve the planet. Again, a very good thing and something we should advocate for. But, recycling, reducing drive times, and supporting animal welfare are not going to change the world. We need to be good stewards of the planet God has given us but decreasing my carbon footprint doesn’t constitute a changed world.

Option 3: Helping the people in your life. This is, like option 1, something that I am encouraging. We should absolutely help not only those who are close to us but people we have never met. Galatians 6:10, tells us to do good to all people. This is a Biblically rooted habit that should be practiced frequently, but it will not change the world. It will make us better people and improve the lives of those around us, but it will not make a resounding noise throughout the globe.

Since we can’t trust the 3 steps to a renewed world that are spelled out by wikiHow, how can we actually change the world?
My theory on this may sound a bit off at first, but follow me. The way to change the world is through investing in yourself. I will repeat it in case you think it is a typo; change the world by investing in yourself. Too often, we try to do things without having first invested in ourselves. We jump into a project without the facts or without having properly equipped ourselves. For a mission as large as changing the world, we must invest in ourselves.

The phrase, Rome wasn’t built in a day offers timeless wisdom. You can’t wake up one day, decide to change the world and do it. It takes time, wisdom, failures, providence, resources, blessings, great people, more failures and a slew of other things. The world isn’t changed overnight.

Where I live there are new buildings going up every day. I can see over 30 cranes outside of my window. It’s unbelievable. As I’ve seen these buildings going up everywhere, I have noticed that regardless of what they will look like on the outside, they always begin the same way. Every construction crew starts by digging deep below the surface and working on the underground support of the building. They spend months working on what no one will ever see. But, this structure is much more important than what people will see. This support is what will make the building strong enough to withstand natural disasters and what will allow it to reach the sky. There is a lesson for us. We must invest in our foundation. We have to spend time working below the surface in order to build a modern marvel. We can’t just expect to start laying concrete and moving upwards. If you want to build big, if you want to change the world, you have start with the foundation.

Jesus modeled investment in his own life. He did not begin his ministry until he was 30 years old. He spent 30 years investing for 3 years of laboring. He knew that in order to be the most important person in the history of the world and in order to change the course of history, he would first have to invest in himself. He knew that he would have to be filled in order to pour himself out.
The way to change the world is through investing in yourself.
We must invest in ourselves. God will prove faithful. He will surely fill us when we ask for his supply. Then when we are ready, we start to pour out. We focus on our foundation, ask God to strengthen it and then do all we can to build high in His name.

The world isn’t changed in a day
Invest in yourself
Build an unshakeable foundation
Then when you are ready to be poured out
Leverage everything you are and have for the Gospel
Relationships, Time, Money.

The world needs world changers. Are you prepared to pay the price to change the world?