Rich Christians Living in a Poor World :: Free Essays

"Let them eat cake" -- Marie-Antoinette "The poor you will always have with you" -- Matthew 26:11 There is a difference in wealth between the north/south divide. The Rich north obtains nearly four fifths of the worlds income whereas the Poor South has only one fifth. The North is rich and the South is poverty-stricken. By the word "rich I mean in a material sense - the north has plenty of material and financial wealth whereas the South has very little. However, for many people in the south, being materially wealthy is not something they desire, and they are therefore spiritually rich. It is impossible for many in the Rich North to be spiritually rich "oh how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God". Although, if they were to share their riches with the poor (as the bible encourages them to do) then having money, when used for the benefit of others is a good thing. 'For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.' Timothy 6:10. It is possible for world equality to be accomplished. The amount of money that requires appears a lot but when compared with the amount spent in HDC's on various things (such as cosmetics and ice cream) it appears to be a small amount. The following statistics are taken from the 1999 United Nations Human Development Report. Basic education, water and sanitation, and basic health and nutrition for every human on the planet would cost $28 billion. But that is $8 billion less than is spent on American cosmetics, ice cream in Europe and pet foods combined. It is thought by many that having no rich Christians while there is poverty in the world would be ridiculous. Having a certain number of rich Christians means that charities are able to operate. These charities help not only materially poor but spiritually poor to gain a better standard of life (before and after death.) If the Christians