The Poverty of Riches

Poverty right next to tourist hotel in Sri Lanka
Poverty right next to tourist hotel in Sri Lanka

We normally think about poverty as being caused by a lack of money. Yet it is quite possible to be rich in terms of money and yet incredibly poor in other areas. My passion is to see a world free from the effects of absolute poverty, a world which doesn’t have a billion people surviving on less than $1 a day. Yet I am very aware that defining poverty is not about numbers and statistics, but about a lack of resources in multiple areas such as capital, earning capacity, freedom, health, faith, education, love, family, companionship and community.

I remember, 20 or so years back visiting Nigeria and speaking to people we would certainly class as extremely poor. I must have appeared to be very rich to them. But there was one particular area where I was poor compared to many of them. I cannot go into details, but no sum of money could rectify one particular situation Christine and I were faced with.

Measuring Poverty

Continue reading “The Poverty of Riches”

Who is my Neighbour?

Elderly lady from Peru
Elderly lady from Peru

A religious lawyer asked this question, “Who is my neighbour?”  This was part of a question and answer dialogue with Jesus. The man had first come to Jesus with a question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” and Jesus challenged the lawyer to summarise the Jewish law.

  • “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” and
  • “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

Jesus said that he had summed up the Continue reading “Who is my Neighbour?”

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