During our abbreviated cold weather service on Sunday, I was pleased to receive questions during the Faith Questions portion concerning our response to wealth distribution. How do we respond to this crisis as a Christian community? I think awareness is a good place to start. I’m sure that there may be a few arguable numbers here, but I think we would have to agree that the essence of this message bears much truth. Although this was sent to me several years ago, I don’t think things have progressed that much.
If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following:
There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world’s wealth and all 6 would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer
When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent. The following is also something to ponder… If you woke up this morning with more health than illness…you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation…you are ahead of 500 million people in the world. If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death…you are more blessed than three billion people in the world. If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep…you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
I reiterate what we pretty much agreed with on Sunday, namely, we have to start with ourselves. Let there be Peace on Earth, and Let it Begin with Me! It is a frustrating response, but it is a response none the less.
Something to consider…
Faithfully,
Jarv
