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A Village of One Hundred
If we could shrink the Earth's population to a village of
precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it
would look something like the following. There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both North and South
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from
the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer
When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for
both acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent. The
following is also something to ponder:
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness... you are more
blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of
imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation...you are ahead
of 500 million people in the world.
If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture,
or death... you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof
overhead, and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish
someplace ...you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
If your parents are still alive and married...you are very rare, even in the
United States and Canada.
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly
thankful...you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.
If you can hold someone's hand, hug them, or even touch them on the
shoulder...you are blessed because you can offer a healing touch.
If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that
someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than over two
billion people in the world that cannot read at all.
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