Hope Is Worth Investing In

A Room Full of Hope

Good evening, everybody.

Before we go any further, I want you to do something for me. Look around.

Look to your left. Look to your right.

Some people are here because they've donated. Some have volunteered their time. Some have opened doors, shared resources, or simply showed up when somebody needed them. And some know personally what it's like to need a helping hand.

Different backgrounds. Different circumstances. Different reasons for being here.

But there's something that connects all of us:

Hope.

Nobody gives to something they believe is a lost cause. Nobody volunteers their time if they don't believe their time can make a difference. And people don't keep reaching for help unless somewhere inside them they still believe tomorrow can be better than today.

That's why I believe hope is worth investing in.

And I'm not only talking about money.

You can invest your time.

You can invest your knowledge.

You can invest your connections.

You can invest your voice.

You can invest your compassion.

Sometimes the greatest thing you can give another human being is simply the dignity of knowing:

"I see you. You matter. And you're not beneath me."

Because we also need to talk about something that sometimes gets lost when we talk about giving:

Humility.

Having money doesn't make someone better than the person who doesn't have it.

Having a title doesn't make someone more important.

Having connections doesn't make someone more deserving of respect.

And needing help does not make somebody less worthy of dignity.

In fact, when we've been blessed with resources, influence, knowledge, or opportunity, I believe those things should make us more humble  not less.

Because the question isn't simply, "What do I have?"

The greater question is:

"What am I willing to do with what I have?"

There's nothing wrong with success. There's nothing wrong with having money or influence. But those blessings should never become a reason to look down on someone who is struggling.

If anything, they give us a greater opportunity to reach down  not to keep somebody beneath us, but to help lift them up.

And when you help someone, help them with respect.

Don't make them feel ashamed because they needed groceries.

Don't make a parent feel less than because they couldn't afford school supplies.

Don't make somebody prove their suffering before you decide they're worthy of compassion.

And don't help someone today just so you can remind them tomorrow of everything you've done for them.

True giving doesn't humiliate the person receiving it.

True service protects people's dignity.

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."

Notice don’t become weary.

Doing good is tiring.

Ask the volunteer who keeps showing up.

Ask the donor who keeps giving.

Ask the person answering calls when the needs are greater than the resources available.

Ask anyone who has spent years trying to help people and sometimes wondered:

"Is any of this actually making a difference?"

There are times when you plant and plant and plant — and you don't see anything growing.

But a farmer doesn't plant a seed in the morning and expect a harvest that afternoon.

For a while, all you see is dirt.

But underneath that dirt, something is happening.

That's what every act of kindness is.

Every dollar donated is a seed.

Every backpack placed into the hands of a student is a seed.

Every family helped through a difficult moment is a seed.

Every phone call answered is a seed.

Every hour volunteered is a seed.

Every person treated with dignity when the rest of the world overlooked them is a seed.

And sometimes you may never personally see the harvest.

That student may remember your kindness twenty years from now.

That struggling parent may eventually become the person helping another family.

That person who felt invisible may someday remember that somebody looked them in the eye and treated them like they mattered.

That's hope.

And that's why we can't allow ourselves to grow weary.

But there's another side to this.

Those of us doing the work also have to remain humble.

We cannot become so proud of helping people that we forget why we're helping them.

This isn't about applause.

It isn't about photographs.

It isn't about titles.

It isn't about who gets the credit.

And it shouldn't be about making somebody feel indebted to us.

It's about people.

It's about neighbors.

It's about remembering that circumstances can change very quickly.

The person giving today could need help tomorrow.

And the person receiving today could become the person giving tomorrow.

That's why we treat one another with humility, compassion, and respect.

So tonight, I'm asking you to invest in hope.

Maybe that's financially.

Maybe it's volunteering.

Maybe it's sharing what we're doing.

Maybe it's opening a door or making an introduction.

Maybe it's simply deciding that the next time you encounter somebody struggling, you're going to see the person before you see their circumstances.

Whatever you have to give, never believe it's too small.

And whatever position life has placed you in, never believe it makes you too important to serve somebody else.

Because at the end of the day, the greatest measure of what we have isn't how much we've accumulated.

It's what we were willing to do with it when somebody else needed us.

So don't grow weary.

Don't lose heart.

Stay humble.

Treat people with dignity.

Keep planting.

Because somewhere  even when we can't see it yet hope is growing.

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