Just the Facts

I just finished reading Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden last night. Unlike Rob's other books, this one took me a little while to get into. But it really picked up steam after the first few chapters. The most eye opening part was a series of facts towards the end that truly convicted me of several things: How incredibly blessed I am/we are to live in America. And, more importantly, that this means we must share our blessings with those in need if we want to truly honor God.

There's no such thing as "a self made man" or having "pulled yourself up by your own bootstraps." You may have done a lot of the work, but God does ALL of the blessing. Just the mere fact that I was born in America, the most advanced civilization in the history of humanity, rather than some third-world village without running water is a HUGE blessing from God. Pure and simple. I did NOTHING to deserve such a gift...therefore if I horde it up and don't somehow share in what I've been given then I am living out of synch with what God desires. Unfortunately, that's how I've been living for far too long. Hopefully after reading these facts, which I'll share with you now, it will begin to open my eyes, and heart, a little more.

• One billion people in the world do not have access to clean water, while an average American uses four hundred to six hundred liters of water a day.

• Every seven seconds, somewhere in the world a child under age five dies of hunger, while Americans throw away 14 percent of the food we purchase.

• Nearly one billion people in the world live on less than one American dollar a day.

• Over two billion people in the world live on less than two American dollars a day.

• 1.6 billion people in the world have no electricity.

• Nearly one hundred million children are denied basic education.

• Most of the people in the world own a car. One-third of American families own three cars.

• Americans spend more annually on TRASH BAGS than nearly half of the world does on all goods.

Yet despite all of our wealth and blessings, are we a happier people? The next fact, which to me was one of the most telling, says no:

• The number of Americans taking antidepressants has tripled in the past decade.

Wow. Hard to hide behind those facts.