What the World Needs Now is

What the world needs now,Is love, sweet love,
It's the only thing that there's just too little of.
What the world needs now,Is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some but for everyone.

Lord, we don't need another mountain,
There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb,
There are oceans and rivers enough to cross,
Enough to last 'til the end of time.


Lord, we don't need another meadow,
There are cornfields and wheat fields enough to grow,
There are sunbeams and moonbeams enough to shine,
Oh listen Lord, if you want to know...oh...

According to the Nobel Prize winner in Economics, Dr. Robert Fogel, Luther Vandross was exactly right when he penned the very popular song. The western world has just about reached its saturation point in terms of possessing things. How many shirts can I wear at one time and how many ragged but new jeans can I have in my closet?

Every time I see an ad for satellite radio with its twenty thousand channels I think that it is overkill, especially when I only listen to the same three stations all the time anyway.Now I am too busy listening to Rick Warren on my iPod to tune into the nuts on "Obscene Scream Radio". I have hundreds of channels on Time-Warner Cable but most of the offerings are junk science or junk ideas or junk news about Paris Hilton.

But the world never gets too much love. I get tired and even exhausted. That is why I am no longer flying to Asia every other month. My body is worn but my heart and mind are still dedicated to giving and receiving God's love.

Fogel says that the main result of the first three Great Awakenings was distribution of freedom and materials goods. He goes on to say that the main result of The Fourth Great Awakening is and will be the distribution of non-material or spiritual realities.

The main cause of poverty in times past was a lack of opportunity to attend school and own property. But democracy and universal schooling has cured those problems in the west. Now the greatest causes of poverty are mental, emotional, relational, social and spiritual. If you want your kids and grand kids and great grand kids to be poor forever it is easy. All you have to do is engage in sex outside of marriage, have kids but do not marry, do dope and drop out of school.

The greatest need of modern men and women is non-material. Their greatest resources lie with mature believers whose material needs have been satiated and whose spiritual bank accounts are filled to the brim. Mere consumption of additional, bigger and better material toys is boring. How many more trips to Hawaii or Europe will it take to satisfy us?

Jesus told the truth yet again when He said, "Give and it shall be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together and placed into your lap". Luke 6:38

It is only by giving that we shall receive blessing, peace and joy. Several years ago I was flying to Singapore and next to me was a man about 55 years old who was on the verge of retirement. He had worked for thirty years for P&G as an expert in international communication so he was looking forward to resting from airplanes and stress. "I am going to build a million dollar house on the fourth tee of the Fancy Dancy Golf Club and just relax" he said with a sigh.

I asked him, "After you have been retire for a while and played about all the golf you can play what will you do?"

He looked puzzled and curious. "I don't know," he replied. "I just haven't given it much thought. Why?"

"Well for several reasons," I said. "First, you will be bored to tears. Your wife will be irritated with you around all the time interrupting her life. Second, God has given you enormous talents and gifts that the broader Kingdom of God desperately needs. I am travelling to Asia, Russia and Scandinavia several times each year but I would love to have a way to teach via Internet or DVD. There are thousands of missionaries who need you to help them communicate with the family, friends and churches back home and you are going to just leave all your talents and experiences behind. Have you ever thought about helping us missionaries out?"

"Our church supports missions very strongly but nobody has ever asked me to help except to give money. I am just a layman. These things I am doing for P&G are secular not spiritual. I am teaching 5th Grade Sunday school now."

I went on with my sermon and said, "Why don't you consider using those talents and gifts for the Lord?"

After a few minutes of thought he said, "I don't think my pastor would let me. He wants me to teach the 5th Grade Sunday school class but I am not ordained as a Pastor or Missionary and I am too old to go back to seminary."

The world is dying from a lack of wise, mature, skilled, talented and gifted believers who have God's love and hope to share in practical ways. Unfortunately, some people seem to be stuck in a galaxy far, far away from reality and think they need a seminary degree before they can help people in need of God's love. May I quote Nike? Just do it!