"Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts." - James 5:1-4In 2007 Australians gave $487 million to foreign aid.
In 2007 Australians spent $487 million on plasma screen TVs.
Oh boy.
3 comments:
Does that include federal overseas aid? We pay that as well. Because we are less Christian and therefore less generous, our generosity comes through legislation. This doesn't make us more generous. Enforced (socialistic) aid is generosity by theft, but we still pay it.
I'd point to all the Christian nations who sent help (or went in person) to Islamic nations after the tsunami. The Muslims hardly lifted a finger. It was the will of Allah!
Yes, we are more selfish than ever, but God loves a cheerful giver. Guilt is not a good motivation.
That's pretty depressing stuff, Matt. Do you think Australians realise that, by their spending, they rate plasma TVs equally with relieving suffering overseas? I reckon that most people, if you ask them, would say that helping the poor is more improtant - so perhaps these figures suggest that our probalem isn't just greed or indifference, but hypocrisy...
Also, while I'm here, would you might shooting me an email to meredithelake at gmail dot com? I'd like to drop you a note about some history things but don't have any contact details for you... thanks!
Hypocrisy and ignorance maybe, or thoughtlessness. Australians have shown themselves to be generous we the need arises, i.e. the 2005 Tsunami, the Victorian bush fires this year.
But as one of the wealthiest nations ever, there certainly is room for a more sustained generosity.
Post a Comment