Michael Lukaszewski

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My wife and I are saving money for a major financial purchase. We’re trying to save a specific dollar amount as fast as we can – ideally, in the next year.

So I hung up this calendar in our closet and my goal is to write a number in every box – the amount of money transferred to our Ally savings account that day.

Yes, every day, I want to manually transfer something to this account. It might be a big amount, or it might be $1. But every day, our goal is to save something. I could either buy a cup of coffee at the coffee shop, or transfer $2. I could either keep that shirt I don’t wear, or sell it on eBay for $5 and make a transfer. In the past 24 days, I’ve made 23 transfers and filled in 23 boxes.

The old school calendar and the ritual of writing a number in a box every day is really helping. I’ve never approached a financial goal with this much intentionality and intensity before, but three weeks in, I’m relatively pleased. There’s something about visually tracking the goal and writing it on the wall.

I’ll keep you posted.

Engraved on the Statue of Liberty is a quote from a sonnet by Emma Lazarus. It reads, “Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddles masses yearning to breathe free.” Listen to the political rhetoric on illegal immigration and you might wonder why some lawmakers haven’t climbed up the Statue of Liberty to chisel off that quote.

I recently attending a panel discussion on healthcare where a local doctor whose practice does not accept third-party insurance spoke. He simply charges for his services and admits that many illegals come to his practice for care. He charges what he considers a fair price and said they are usually happy to pay.

A woman in the audience was very upset over the fact that her tax dollars were funding services like medicine and education for illegal immigrants while her own children did not have healthcare. While I am sure that this is a complicated issue, one involving a great deal of politics and invoking a great deal of passion, the doctor’s answer was great.

“They are still human,” he said.

I do not pretend to understand all of the issues related to immigration, and Lady Liberty may not be able to practically follow through on her statement, but the well-being of humanity is an issue that should extend beyond the healthcare or education debate.

Yes, many people take advantage of government services. But a great deal of other people leave horrible conditions in their own country and come to the United States in pursuit of a better life. While millions of Americans may not have access to quality healthcare (the emergency room is compelled by law to treat everyone in need of medical attention), we cannot often relate to the horrible living conditions around the world. Our perspective is not complete.

As a Christian, I believe we have some sort of responsibility to care about the needs of the world, including those who do not live in our country. I’m not sure what that looks like, but I know serving and helping shouldn’t be stopped by borders.

THE ATTITUDE OF AMERICA

National pride is a good thing, as evidenced by the Olympic Games. During these few weeks every two years, we root for Americans as nationals root for their countries as well. But national pride can lead to ethnocentrism, the belief that one culture is morally superior to another.

Americans speak few languages and know little about world affairs. The newspaper in a small town is more likely to run a story on an overnight arrest at a convenience store than what’s happening in another part of the country. It’s difficult to get people to think outside their town, much less challenge them about global concerns. We’re convinced it’s not important. And we’re highly suspicious of other cultures, especially Islamic ones.

We expect everyone to speak English and act offended when we learn that they are teaching Spanish in the schools. “If they want to come here, they can learn our language,” people say. When I visited Israel a few years ago, my cab driver spoke three languages fluently, and while I may know many things, I speak just one language. We forget that most of the world doesn’t speak English.

Furthermore, those who claim that they live in the greatest country in the world have most likely never visited any other country. It’s small thinking and ethnocentricity. It’s a statement that lacks facts and reeks of prejudice.

We can be proud of nation in which we live, but we need to honor and respect other cultures, and realize that those who live there think THEY are living in the greatest country on earth as well.

THE RISE OF THE WORLD

Did you know that the world’s tallest building isn’t in the US? The richest man in the world is Mexican and the largest publicly-traded company is Chinese. The world’s biggest plane is built in Russia and The Ukrane. The largest Ferris Wheel is in Singapore. Macao surpasses Las Vegas in casino revenue. Only 1 of the top 10 malls is in the United States. 2.5 billion people in the world live in just two countries…India and China.

I know us Americans think that live revolves around us, and while we may be the world’s only military superpower, finances, industry, society and culture is no longer centered here.

When you look back through human history and consider all the Empires that have come and gone, we shouldn’t think that America will last forever. Rome was pretty powerful in her heyday. So was Greece. And Great Britain.

It’s not that America is losing ground, but rather that everybody else is catching up. That’s what happened to the Dream Team, the USA basketball team that dominated the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. By 2004, International Basketball caught up.

It happens in sports and it happens in business. The growth that occurred over the past 200 years in America has happened in China over the past 30 years. Wal-Mart, the pinnacle of American capitalism, employs 1.4 million people and makes up a whopping 2% of the GDP. But the majority of Wal-Mart’s suppliers are in China. This American company is really a world company.

And it’s true in education. Foreign students make up 50% of the science researchers in the United States. In 2006, 40% of doctorates in science and engineering were given to people not born in America.

Not only do those of us in small towns need to realize that there’s a country out there. Those of us in this country need to realize that there’s a world out there.

RELIGION IN THE WORLD

Did you know that protestant churches are growing fastest in Brazil and South Korea, NOT in North America? Did you know that South Africa has 7,000 Christian denominations? Not Christians…not churches….denominations. Do you realize that Christianity is spreading all over the world, and that the move of God is not limited to America.

The Great Commission commands us to take the Gospel to the World. To do that, we’ve got to get out of our American bubble and stop expecting everyone else to adopt American values.

If you’re a leader, I recommend you read The Post American World by Fareed Zakaria. It’s recently been updated and its one of the best books on global thinking.