Gratitude: A Global Perspective, Part 1
In this first of a two part series, we look at how blessed we are compared to the rest of the world. Click here for the recording of this 11/17 Service, and you can fast-forward to 27:03 to get to the start of the sermon.
Our text comes from James 4.14
…you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
Introduction…
We have no idea, and only so much control, over what tomorrow brings.
This verse speaks to zoe- life physical, eternal, or spiritual.
Your life is like a mist or vapor, that appears for a little while, and then it is gone.
So in the expanse of eternity, our life is a drop in the ocean of time.
How does the US standard of living compare to the world?
On a global scale, the vast majority of Americans are either upper-middle income or high income.
And many Americans who are classified as “poor” by the U.S. government would be middle income globally.
The analysis includes 111 countries, which account for 88% of the global population.
Pew Research divided people into five income groups:
People who are poor (living on $2 or less daily),
Low income ($2.01-10),
Middle income ($10.01-20),
Upper-middle income ($20.01-50) and
High income (more than $50).
The global middle-income range translates to an annual income of $14,600 to $29,200 for a family of four.
*The U.S. stands head and shoulders above the rest of the world.
More than half (56%) of Americans were high income by the global standard, living on more than $50 per day in 2011, the latest year that could be analyzed with the available data.
Another 32% were upper-middle income.
Almost nine-in-ten Americans had a standard of living that was above the global middle-income standard.
Only 7% of people in the U.S. were middle income,
3% were low income and
2% were poor.
Perspective
What is considered poor here in the US is a level of income still not available to most people globally.
In 2011, the official poverty line in the U.S. was $23,021 for a family of four, or $15.77 per day per person
More than half of Americans who are poor by U.S. government standards would be middle income when compared with the rest of the world.
The US compared to the rest of the world…
The majority of Americans are part of the global high-income population that resides almost exclusively in Europe and North America.
These two regions accounted for 87% of the global high-income population in 2011 – only slightly less than in 2001, when their share stood at 91%.
The rest of the world has a lot of catching up to do.
(pewresearch.org)
How did we get this way?
A Judeo-Christian work ethic
Some darker parts of our national history in the name of “manifest destiny”
Legal immigration bring people who wanted a better life
Working/fighting our way through problems- the Civil War, the Great Depression
Standing for what is right- WW2, the Civil Rights era
A system of government which has stood the test of time
Have you ever thought about…
Why you were born in the US?
Why you were born the gender you have?
Why you were born the color you have?
Why you were born into your particular family?
What control did you have over any of this?
How was this decided? The sovereignty of God…He did this for reasons of His own, which He is not obliged to divulge
How would your life be different if you were born elsewhere, of the opposite gender, of another color, in another family?
**Practicing global gratitude
See your placement in the world as a sovereign gift from God
Read and study about the world at large to appreciate how blessed you are- if you can read, you can travel
Understand that gratitude is wanting what you have, not having what you want
Leverage and steward your God given abilities to improve your life
Remember that godliness with contentment is great gain, 1 Tim 6.6
Don’t wait to live your life to its fullest- do it now, because you are not guaranteed tomorrow
