Last week I posted about Faith Perspectives in Our World. I shared some data from two particular sources, one being Daniel Groody’s Globalization, Spirituality & Justice (3rd edition from 2015). It considers stats from the perspective of reducing the world to a village of 100 people.

Following the data on adherents to specific religious perspectives in our world, he continues by looking at poverty statistics. Here are some points he highlights:

The richest person has as much as the poorest 57 together.
50 do not have a reliable source of food and are hungry some or all of the time.
30 suffer malnutrition
40 do not have access to adequate sanitation
31 live in substandard housing
31 do not have electricity
18 are unable to read
15 do not have access to safe drinking water
16 have access to the internet
12 own an automobile
3 are migrating
2 have a college education
19 struggle to survive on one dollar or less per day
48 struggle to survive on two dollars or less per day

Overall, two-thirds of the planet live in poverty.

“The earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not every man’s greed.” –Mahatma Gandhi

I am not sure which of these stat lines are most shocking, but overall we can identify that there is a major problem of poverty in our world.

My heart is filled with sadness as I type these words.

I know today I will eat, I will have water, I will not be malnourished, there is proper sanitation, I have a home with a warm bed and shower for myself and my family, we have electricity with internet, 2 automobiles, and both my wife and I have a college education or higher.

Oh, God. Help. Please help.

You have called us to be a blessing. We are to be your hands of provision in our world.