If we could shrink the earth's population to a village
of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios
remaining the same, it would look something like the
following. There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western
Hemisphere, both north and south
8 would be
Africans
52 would be
female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be
non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be
heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59%
of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United
States.
80 would live in
substandard housing
70 would be unable to
read
50 would suffer from
malnutrition
(ONE)1 would be near
death;
(ONE)1 would be near
birth;
(ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would
have a college education;
(ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would
own a computer.
When one considers our
world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance,
understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.
And, therefore . .
.
If you have food in the
refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to
sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.
If you woke up this morning
with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the
million who will not survive this week.
If you have money in the
bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are
among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
If you can attend a church
meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you
are more blessed than three billion people in the world.
If you have never
experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment,
the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of
500 million people in the world.
If you hold up your head
with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are
blessed because the majority can, but most do
not.
If you can read this
message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in
the world who cannot read at all.
As you read this and are reminded how life is in
the rest of the world, remember just how blessed you really
are!
