A few months ago I came across a couple of articles that had some shocking statistics about world wealth and poverty. One of the articles calculates wealth and the other gives facts and statistics about poverty. I have to say I was blown away. According to one of the sites I found, the median household income in the United State is $46,326. If your family makes $46,326 a year then you are in the wealthiest 10%!!! Yes, you heard me correctly, the median U.S. household, has 90% more wealth than the rest of the world! You can use this wealth calculator tool to figure out your family's percent or the one I added below.
(the "I make $33,500 a year" is just an example that comes with the calculator, not our actual income)
-Half of the world (three billion people) live on less than $2.50 a day.
-According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty.
-Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
-Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.
-According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty.
-Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
-Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.
-Out of the 2.2 billion children in the world 1 billion live in poverty (that is every second child).
-15 million children are orphaned due to HIV/AIDS.
-1.6 billion people (a quarter of humanity) live without electricity, 547 million in Sub-Saharan Africa.
-15 million children are orphaned due to HIV/AIDS.
-1.6 billion people (a quarter of humanity) live without electricity, 547 million in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The very next Sunday after first reading this article I came face to face with some of those numbers AGAIN in church! Right up on the projector screen. I think He was trying to tell me something :0)
He said, "Katie, you have received full payment and have more than enough. You are amply supplied, now that you have received the gifts I sent... I will meet all your needs according to the riches of My glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:18-20
Jesus tells us in Luke 16:9-13, "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Why was I focusing on the unimportant things that I didn't have instead of sharing all of the blessings that I do have!?! I had been so caught up in living the "American Dream" and looking for bigger and better ways to live and so blind to how the rest of the world lives. Yes, we have a modest home, no flat screen televisions or stainless steel appliances here, but we have never gone without. I have never gone without indoor plumbing, clean water, or electricity... I have never gone without a meal, a change of clothes, a pair of shoes...I have never gone without health care, medication, education, or transportation... but SO MANY others have. I am privileged!!! Since that day I have been able to surrender the wealth of this world and finally seek His kingdom. It is a freedom I wish I could share with everyone. No longer will I get caught up in the things I don't have, but always be looking at my blessings and how I can share them. I am so filled with joy for this new hope to adopt and am now so thankful to be free to pursue it! In fact, I am so filled with joy that I am even looking forward to sharing our one bathroom between all seven of us!!
Our house -a typical framed house with
seven rooms and a garage.
3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom 1,132 sq ft.
There are currently 5 members
in our immediate family...
7 soon hopefully.
A traditional Ethiopian home.
Ethiopian huts are mud brick style with
a straw roof and are often only one room.
Inside there is no plumbing or electricity.
The average family size is 7.5 per
immediate family, but it is not
rare to find relatives living together.
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