www.globalrichlist.com

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty wealthy. The website goes on to say that half of the world lives on less than $2/day, and they suggest donating to help deal with the problem of poverty. I didn’t look into the specific cause they’re giving donations to, but I do know that for most of us it’s not hard to find local charities, churches, or other organizations that rely on our donations to collectively help the poor on a consistent, ongoing basis.

We can have different responses to this, but before we have a chance to point any fingers at the people higher on the list than us, let me say a quick word of caution. Blaming someone else doesn’t get us anywhere. For one thing, it’s usually just our way of excusing our own choices, and secondly, even if we were at the bottom of the list earning less than the two dollars a day that would not be enough to vindicate us, but most of all that thirdly, forcing rules, regulations, and higher taxes on others isn’t going to fix the deeper issue. That’s like putting a band-aid over cancer; you’re only dealing with what’s on the outside–external actions. You aren’t yet stepping back to understand what’s really going on inside of a person’s heart as they happily live out their comfortable life centered around what fulfills their every momentary desire. When speaking on another topic, I think Ravi Zacharias brought up a principle that applies here when he stated, “Legislation can only force compliance. It can never produce the love necessary to change an attitude.” That love he’s speaking of is the kind of love for God that changes us to love others, knowing that they were created in God’s image just as we were (see Genesis 1:27, Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:13).

I’m not here to tell you how to deal with this, but I think for any of us who claim to be a Christian, it only makes sense that we (myself included) would more carefully study the central figure of our faith, Jesus Christ, by observing what he chose to focus on throughout the Gospel accounts from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We aren’t going to solve the issue of world poverty just as Jesus didn’t come merely to meet physical needs. If you’re not sure of that, take a look at John 4:1-42 for the account of Jesus giving the Samaritan woman water from the well, and pay close attention to his words to her in verses 13-14: “Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again’.” There is a larger issue at stake than just what the poor are lacking here on earth, but we will certainly help them as our love for God flows over into every aspect of our life, creating these acts of compassion that point people to the one who we’re really doing them for.

Paul Washer: The Truth About Christianity

Transcript here. YouTube url here.

Quote excerpt:

“I’m talking about Christianity. I have spent my life in jungles. I have spent my life freezing in the Andes Mountains. I have seen people die. A little boy–Andrew Myman–the Muslims shot him five times through the stomach and left him on a sidewalk simply because he cried out, “I am so afraid but I cannot deny Jesus Christ. Please don’t kill me, but I will not deny Him.” And he died in a pool of blood. And you talk about being a radical Christian because you wear a tee shirt, because you go to a conference. I’m talking about holiness. I’m talking about Godliness.” - Paul Washer

At the time of posting, this video from 2006 had 1.3 million views, thankfully with the comments disabled to avoid inevitable, pathetic out of context arguments. This guy’s powerful words just make every wishy-washy TV evangelist’s positive self-esteem-building feel-good mystic fluff look like an ant in front of a thunderstorm. And take note that we can walk away thinking about the message, rather than the messenger. Alright, I need to go evaluate my entire life again.