Another rant

So the other day, I went to tearfund.co.nz and signed up to sponsor a child. As I was setting up my AP, I was struck by the sheer ridiculousness of it all- here I was, feeling pretty good about the fact that I was signing up to give... er, $10 per week. $10?? I often spend that much on lunch! Now, I understand that for some people- students and the like- $10 is quite a lot. My flatmate told me a few years ago that he had a 'frivolous expenditure' budget of $5 per week- so not everyone is in a position to give even that much. But for someone like me, with a decent job, no loan, and no dependents, $10 is a pittance.

So little.... yet so much.

Kids these days...

When I was 13, I was pretty carefree. In fact, the most pressing concerns on my mind usually involved food- by which I mean food for me, not for starving Africans or anything like that.
For most 13 year old kids, managing their finances means seeing how many CDs/burgers/sugary treats they can buy with their weekly pocket money- so I was somewhat surprised at church this morning when a 13 year old girl by the name of Lizzie got up to share on the topic of financial freedom. Ten minutes later, I understood. This girl had, since the age of 9, been saving her money and collecting funds from her family and friends to send to a missionary organisation called Freeset that takes prostitutes off the streets of Calcutta and employs them in a factory making jute bags. For $300, they can take a girl of the street and set her up with a job.
She spoke so articulately about how God had placed this particular part of Calcutta on her heart and given her the opportunity to make a difference there that you would have thought she was 30, not 13.
It was without a doubt the most inspiring thing I've ever heard in a church.

1 Timothy 4:12:
Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

My currently somewhat unfulfilling existence

For those that don't know, I've just left Luminous. No fall outs, no animosity, I just decided it was time to move on. So now I'm back in Christchurch for the year- and for the first time in 3 or 4 years, I'm not in a band. This whole turn of events leaves me with a few dilemmas.

I already have a great job, so that's one problem solved. I have plenty of people to play music with too, so there's another one down. The remaining problem, however, stems from the very nature of my job. I mean, its fun, and challenging, but at the end of the day, what am I achieving for the greater good? Building websites is clearly not a bad thing, and may even be considered an admirable pursuit- depending on the nature of the site I suppose- but are the starving children of Africa and the oppressed women of Iran, and their ilk, recieving any benefit? I somehow don't think so, and neither are the needy right here in Christchurch- in fact, it often seems the main purpose of my work is to help people sell stuff.

So here I am, lubricating the cogs of capitalism, while the world around me continues to go down the tubes. What can I do? What should I do? Any ideas?