A rich perspective....

This is a cross-post from the other blog that I keep (http://publichealth-faith.blogspot.com/). My apologies to those of you who read both, but since most do not and since this is relevant to this blog, I thought I'd paste this particular post here also. The post flows out of thoughts I have had that come from a recent series of messages I have heard at the church we attend....
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-Do you earn more than US$30 per month? In 2004, almost 1 billion people in the world lived below the international poverty line, earning less than US$1 per day ($365 per year). 19% of the people living in the world’s developing nations (Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe) were living on 1$ per day or less.

-Approximately 85% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (some of the most populous places on the globe) earn less than US$32,000 per year. 90% earn less that US$42,000 per year. ($32,000 and $42,000 are the median income of women and men, respectively, in the US).

-Do you have health insurance? In 2004, the vast majority, 80%, of people living in developing countries had to pay for health care out of their own pocket.-Do you have regular access to safe water? In 2006, 1 billion people did not have access to safe water.

-Do you regularly use the Internet? In 2005, 9% of people in developing countries had access to the Internet—15% of people in the world (all countries) had access.

-Do you have 2 days off of work each week?

-Do you get paid, at times, for doing nothing? (paid holidays, vacation time, sick leave)

-Do you spray drinking water on your lawn?


Many of us do not feel rich, but we are indeed rich in comparison to many/most people in the world. As I have been recently challenged by messages in the church I attend, if we are rich (and if you are reading this, you probably are), we need to be rich. To be rich toward others and to be rich in doing good.

And then this final verse (from 1 Tim. 6), ...."in this way (that is, by doing, by being rich in good deeds, by being generous)....they may take hold of the life that is truly life."

(The data above come from the United Nations' recent global health report entitled, "The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007." It's a worthwhile read and is essentially a report card on how the United Nations, and their partners, are doing at improving the health and well-being of people globally.)