We are Rich
I’ve had the privilege of traveling to a lot of places around the world, including both third-world countries and more advanced countries. I always return home with the same conclusion: we Americans are very wealthy. Most people in the world have much less than even “poor” Americans. Most of us are not millionaires, but we are rich.
We have an abundance of food and clothing. Our grocery stores are stocked with copious quantities and a great selection of food. If we tire of cooking, we have wonderful restaurants with dishes from all over the world. Likewise, our closets are filled to overflowing with nice clothes. We usually have far more than we need to keep us warm, comfortable, and looking nice. If we do need more, our stores are filled with all the latest styles.
We live in comfortable homes that are large by world standards. Our homes are warm in the winter and cool in the summer. They are nicely furnished and nicely decorated. We have electricity and excellent phone service available 24/7 with only rare interruptions. We have washing machines, dishwashers, microwave ovens, computers (often with broadband access to the internet), cable television, and I could go on and on.
Most of us drive nice cars. We drive them on a network of generally excellent roads that are the envy of most of the world. And we are free to travel whenever and wherever we care to travel in this beautiful country. No travel documents needed. No government permissions.
It is in the area of freedoms that we are particularly rich. We freely elect our leaders. We have great freedom of expression both in our speech and in our media. We can gather for worship and worship as the Lord leads us with no expectation of interference.
We take all these things for granted and consider them our due. What much of the world considers luxuries, we consider necessities of life.
Not many of our brothers and sisters around the world have nearly what we have. Yet I’ve observed many people around the world whom I would consider desperately poor with a cheerful attitude toward life. And Americans—including American Christians—with great abundance often are looking for yet a little more to make us feel happy and secure. Even as Christians, our “stuff” often owns us rather than the other way around.
God has told us that “to whom much is given, much will be required.” All of us have been given much. God will someday ask us if we were faithful stewards of the great abundance that He entrusted to us. He will ask us if we were tight-fisted or generous. We need to examine carefully what we really need and what we only want. One Life gives us an excellent opportunity to do this examination.
Gary Holmberg
IBC Elder