This Christmas, I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to become  fatigued. 

When we are motivated to action by some severe need we stand up and do something on behalf of the extremely poor.

But the next time we hear that need…it doesn’t pack the same emotional punch.

We’ve heard these things again, and again, and again…the needs are everywhere. They are in my e-mail, my Facebook, my coffee shop. They are part of the background noise of my world.

We have made these facts common and uninteresting.

They no longer represent actual children who are actually suffering from starvation, malnutrition, disease, abuse, violence, HIV/AIDS, rape, sex trafficking, slavery, child labor…  They are just concepts filed in a box in our memory.

They’ve stopped breaking our hearts.

This is what  happens when you relocate a memory from your heart to your brain.

I believe there is only one antidote to this.

Give anyway.

Give your money and your time and your influence. Give big, give little, and give in between. Give and give some more.

If you need a place to start…start with the FIVE campaign–five things anyone can do to help those in global poverty:

1. PRAY five minutes each day on behalf of the extremely poor.

2. FAST five hours each week–skip ONE meal in the next 7 days on behalf of the poor.

3. GIVE $5 or more each month. You can start giving right here.

4. SERVE at least 5 days on a mission trip or as a volunteer.

5. ASK five people to join you in doing the same. Change Their Story is a great way to do this, click to register.

This is just one of many starting points you can take. You know what you’re supposed to give away this Christmas season.

So just give it.