Loving the Least of These

Lately I've been reading Rob Bell's new book ' Jesus Wants to Save Christians'. And yesterday I sat on my bed reading the fifth chapter entitled 'Swollen-Bellied Black Babies, Soccer Moms on Prozac, And the Mark of the Beast' when I ran across some world statistics that didn't really surprise me, but did break my heart. These statistics aren't meant to make you feel guilty about what you have been blessed with as an American, I just want to share with you how the rest of the world lives in hopes that as you say your prayers tonight you will remember to thank God for the things we take for granted every day, like clean water.

America controls nearly 20 percent of the worlds wealth. There are around six billion people in the world, and there are roughly three hundred million people in the US. That makes America less than 5 percent of the world's population. And this 5 percent owns a fifth of the worlds wealth.

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

Every seven seconds, somewhere in the world a child under age 5 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, and another 2.5 billion live on less than two American dollars a day. More than half of the world lives on less than two dollars a day, while the average American teenager spends nearly $150 a week.

Fourty percent of the people in the world lack basic sanitation, while fourty-nine million diapers are used and thrown away in America every day.

One point six billion people in the world have no electricity.

Nearly one billion people in the world cannot read or sign their name.

Nearly one hundred million children are denied basic education.

By far, most of the people in the world do not own a car while one-third of American families own three cars.

One in seven children worldwide [ 158 million] has to go to work every day just to survive.

Four out of five American adults are high school graduates

Americans spend more annually on trash bags than nearly half of the world does on all goods.


God bless America?

He has.