By Dr. Joseph Mercola

This world we live in chews up and spits out the bad, unfortunately, and the good equally, efficiently and with great regularity. After reviewing Darnell Burtin's story about the Salvation Army in this newsletter, I wanted to remind you one last time the need for help has no season.

Last month, I shared my thoughts with you about a motivational sermon written by John Wesley, an Anglican minister who lived and preached in the mid 1700s about "The Use of Money." I found Wesley's 260-year-old sermon to be one of the most persuasive arguments I've ever read for using money as it was properly intended:

• Gain all you have to support and care for your family
• Save all you can by managing your money so it can do its work in the world without harm to others
• Give all you can by sharing all your excess wealth, after accomplishing the first two goals, to help those in need to the fullest

After doing some careful research on my own, I've found the goals Wesley spelled out in his sermon so long ago mirror those of the Salvation Army. They practice what they preach 24/7 during national disasters, the holiday season and, otherwise, when duty calls without judgment, without rancor, without a whole lot of fanfare.

Although the Salvation Army is a religious organization, they are one of the few whose dedication to service doesn't stop on Sunday. That faith accounts for the enthusiasm in which Army employees and officers operate and much of their efficiency. Here's what I mean:

Wise thinking

Along the lines of gaining all you can, the Salvation Army does that in spades, especially with a budget exceeding $2 billion. But in the process of doing so, they maintain a high level of respect for others by not giving donors useless spiffs or trinkets. Your "reward" is in funding their mission.

I've also found Wesley's saving all you can credo is a staple of the Salvation Army, particularly of their employees. The commissioner, or CEO, of the Salvation Army is paid the princely sum of $13,000 a year, more than 300 times less than the top executive at the American Red Cross, which some say is more of an allowance than a true salary (although all housing and transportation costs are covered).

Rather than living a life in the corporate world hoarding money for a soulless company--think about those pharmaceutical companies I often rail about and you'll get the point--one Salvation Army member interviewed in Worth magazine said that he "doesn't miss anything you can buy with money. I'm in the will of God, doing what he wants me to do. There's no higher purpose than that."

In other words, the mission of Salvation Army officers and staffers to help others supercedes any kind of profit motive. That allows the Army to give all they can to various relief and disaster recovery efforts all over the world, often at the spur of the moment. If you go to their Web site, you'll find information about the many projects for which they are offering assistance, including many things you've probably never heard much about. Here's a sample:

• Working with Korea on improving nutrition in a rural community
• Flood victims in Bangladesh
• Helping Ugandans locate permanent homes

I believe the Salvation Army is the modern day epitome of John Wesley's message, and I hope you do too.

After you've earned all you can and saved all you can, give some of what's left to the Salvation Army. You'll be glad you did.

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