The most interesting thing I’ve heard so far in 2011 is a definition of “rich.” (And I apologize if you go to my church and heard this already from our guest pastor, Jimmy Dodd. I am flagrantly stealing this from his message.) If you meet these three criteria, then you can assume you are among the world’s richest inhabitants:
Do you have choices? Do you shop at a grocery store and have to choose what to buy there? Do you have to choose which socks to wear? Which car to drive today? Which presents to buy for your children’s birthdays? If so, you are rich.
Do you have opportunities? Can you learn to play a new sport? Take up a new instrument? Do you have opportunities to learn, to read, to write, to get an education? Are you able to focus on making yourself better or improving your life? (Not do you, but can you?) If so, then you are rich.
Do you have privacy? (This is the one that’s most eye-opening to me.) Do you have a place where you can get alone by yourself? Can you find a quiet place? Do you have a place in your house that’s just yours? If so, you are rich.
This means that my friends on food stamps are rich. The poorest Americans—those who sleep in homeless shelters and wonder where their next meal will come from—even they are rich. They have opportunities and choices. If nothing else, they can go to a public park or a library and sit alone for a bit. And me? I must be crazy rich.
Sobering.
