Rich I tell you!

You are rich. Maybe you aren’t rich beyond your wildest dreams but rich nonetheless. Your privileged position in the world comes with warnings and responsibilities.

You may not have thought of yourself as rich but I hope to convince you differently. Until recently I hadn’t ever thought of myself as rich. I come from a working class family in a working class suburb. I could always think of other people who are much better off than me.

My brother-in-law, Peter Rees (who has a great blog at http://theloudproject.blogspot.com/) posted a link to a site called http://www.globalrichlist.com/. By entering my yearly salary I learnt that I am in top 1% – I am among the 50,000,000 richest people in the world. Even someone on the minimum wage in Australia is comfortably in the top ten percent.

Think about it. You have access to the internet and what’s more you can read, so you must have had quite an education. If you plan to have three square meals today then that sets you apart from half of the world who live on just a few dollars a day.

My new definition is that being rich means having more than I need. The truth is that beyond the actual needs of myself and my family I have money to spare. I regularly spend money going out to eat or for entertainment – I even have the means to go on holidays while still making payments on a house. I can even invest in the hobbies and talents of my children.

I haven’t said all this so that you want to hit me up for a loan, but hopefully I’ve convinced you that you are indeed rich. Like I said before being rich comes with warnings and responsibilities. Let me put these in the form of questions for you to think about:

Could you live without all that spare money and stuff?

Would you be willing to sacrifice your riches to help the poor?

Are you prepared to exchange some of your comfort to make others more comfortable?

If you are really ready for a hit between the eyes, read from the Bible in Luke 6:24-26, which has got me thinking recently.

If you have it to spare then you have it to share.
Discuss.