Word of God Speak

At the risk of asking an offensive question, why should we care about the poor? If we embrace a Darwinian Evolutionary Theory of nature, then there is no reason for a stronger member of a species to sacrifice to help a weaker member. It makes no evolutionary sense. Eliminate the weaker members of the herd so that the species can get stronger, that’s what makes evolutionary sense. Why waste precious resources on others?

On the other hand, if we embrace the biblical truth of a Divine Creator and Moral Ruler of the Universe, then caring for those less fortunate than ourselves makes perfectly good sense. For starters, regardless of our station in this life, our spiritual station was one of absolute poverty. We are nothing more than sinners deserving the wrath of God, and there can be no needier position than that. God who is rich sacrificed Himself so that we who are poor could share in His wealth. This basic truth becomes the basis for those who have more to care for those who have less.

But beyond this philosophical understanding, Scripture clearly gives evidence of God’s heart for the poor. According to one commentator, there are over 550 biblical references that demonstrate God’s care for those who are in poverty and of His command for us to do the same. Consider the following as just a small sampling…

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. ¹⁰And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19.9-10) Continue reading “God’s Heart for the Poor” »

The following gives us a quick snap shot of the world in which we live, a world that we share with over 7 billion other people.

Population

There are over 7 billion people currently living on earth.

The world’s population is growing by about 0.8% each year, adding nearly 80 million people annually.

Every second, 4.3 people are born and 1.8 people die, accounting for a net gain of 2.5 people every second.

Nearly 1 out of 4 people in the world are between the ages of 10 and 24, and 80% of these people live in developing countries.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 55% of children under the age of five have never been registered, meaning nearly 50 million children each year begin life with no identity.

More than 9 million children will die before they reach their 5^th birthday.

Resources

About 4.7 billion people live in low to middle-low economies. (A low economy is an annual income of $935 or less which represents about 37% of the world’s population. Middle Income is an annual income of between $936 to $3705 which represents about 38% of the world’s population. Only 6% of the world’s population enjoys an annual income of more than $11, 456.)

More than 1.6 billion people lack access to electricity and modern form of energy, almost 23% of the people on the earth.

About 12% of the world’s population does not have access to safe water.

The optimal amount of water needed by an adult is 2 quarts per day, 1 quart per day for a child.

In the developing world, the average person uses 2.5 gallons of water each day for drinking, washing, and cooking.

In the developed world, the average person uses 13 gallons of water each day just to flush the toilet.

About 40% of the world’s population does not have access to adequate sanitation.

1.8 million children die each year from diseases associated with unclean water and poor sanitation.

Hunger

One in seven people on the planet battle hunger every day.

About 963 million people across the world are undernourished at this very moment.

More than 6 million children die from malnutrition each year.

25% of children in developing countries are under weight and at risk of the long term effects of malnutrition.

Disease

Children under age 5 account for less than 10 percent of the world’s population, but suffer from 40 percent of the diseases attributed to environmental factors.

Safety

One out of every six children in developing countries between the ages of 5 to 14 is involved in some form of child labor. In the least developed countries, over 30% of children are involved in child labor.

About 1.2 million children, girls and boys, are trafficked each year into exploitative work in agriculture, mining, factories, armed conflict or commercial sex work.

For more information about global statistics, visit Compassion International.

(Dr. Todd Pylant is the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Benbrook in Fort Worth, Texas, and the author of Word of God Speak and If: the Conditionality of the Gospel and the Danger of Apostasy

As our church prepares to participate in Compassion Sunday, here are a few stats about poverty to put our discussion on Sunday morning in perspective.

Every day 1,500 women die from complications in pregnancy or childbirth that could have been prevented.

Each day 10,000 newborns die within a month of birth, and daily the same number of babies are also born dead.

More than 1.6 billion people lack access to electricity and modern forms of energy.

Over 1.4 billion people in the developing world live below the poverty line (U.S.$1.25 per day).

Annual world economy breaks down like this:

• 1. Low Income, $935 or less: 37%
• 2. Lower Middle Income, $936 to $3,705: 38%
• 3. Upper Middle Income, $3,706 to $11,455: 9%
• 4. High Income, $11,456 or more: 16%

In developing countries, approximately 130 million children and teens — age 17 or under — have lost one or both parents.

More than 9 million children under age 5 die each year. Two-thirds of these deaths — more than 6 million every year — are preventable.

One person in seven battles hunger every day.

Approximately 963 million people across the world are hungry.

More than 9 million children under age 5 die every year, and malnutrition accounts for more than one-third of these deaths. Most of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

About 5.6 million deaths of children worldwide are related to under-nutrition. This accounts for 53 percent of the total deaths for children under 5.

More than 140 million or 25 percent of all children in developing countries are underweight and at risk from the long-term effects of malnourishment.

Nearly 15 percent of babies in developing countries are born with a low birth weight compared with only 7 percent of babies in industrialized countries.

More than 6 million children die from malnutrition each year.

Worldwide, 161 million preschool children suffer from chronic malnutrition.

Already 923 million people worldwide are undernourished, and there are more than 9 million deaths related to hunger each year.

For more statistics about poverty and hunger, click here.

(Dr. Todd Pylant is the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Benbrook in Fort Worth, Texas)