The Greatest Problem of our Time

President Jimmy Carter's known for his work among the poor, specifically Habitat for Humanity. He was asked to share in a speech in 1999 what the world's greatest challenge would be in the new millenium. Wanna guess what he said?


Fast forward a few years. The year was 2002. President Carter had just been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his accomplishments post-presidency in fighting poverty, disease, and promoting democracy. In his acceptance speech, he said this:

At the beginning of this new millennium I was asked to discuss, here in Oslo, the greatest challenge the world faces. Among all the possible choices, I decided that the most serious and universal problem is the growing chasm between the richest and poorest people on earth. Citizens of the 10 wealthiest countries are not 75 times richer than those who live in the 10 poorest ones, and the separation is increasing every year, not only between nations but also within them. The results of this disparity are root causes of most of the world's unresolved problems, including starvation, illiteracy, environmental degradation, violent conflict, and unnecessary illnesses that range from Guinea worm to HIV/AIDS.

Where's the church in all this? Why aren't we doing more to prevent what would be unacceptable in our own families, communities, and neighborhoods? Why aren't some of the loudest voices against injustice followers of the God of Justice?

Again, I'm not just preaching to you. I'm preaching to me, too. These are problems we can solve as the body of Christ. Jesus said the world would know we love him by our love for each other, and especially means the poorest of the poor. Take a look at Jesus again. Notice who he touched, spoke to, spent time with, preached about.

I wonder what could happen if everyone who even read this blog did something! Wanna sponsor a child? There's a start. Visit http://y-malawi.org/.