Rich and Poor in America, Part 1

Out of the sixty students in my grade at Garfield Elementary school, I was one of two students who enjoyed annual winter vacations. As a result, I was frequently teased about being a “rich kid.” Though I didn’t think of my family as being rich, according to the economic standards of the 1950’s & 1960’s, we probably were.

But today is a different world. When I travel south for a winter vacation -- it is almost one of life’s necessities this near the Canadian border! -- I meet many different classes of people as I stroll the beach. And whereas people formerly traveled by car or public transportation, now “air travel has become the Amtrak of the skies, just as cruise ships are becoming the Greyhound of the seas.” The proliferation of wealth in our generation is truly phenomenal. In spite of great differences between the rich and poor, the statistics show that most Americans today are much wealthier than earlier generations. The old cliché that “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer” is simply not true.

Weren’t we wise to have chosen to be born at this time, in this nation? Obviously none of us controls that choice -- life here is simply a gift from our Creator who determined “the times set for [us] and the exact place where [we] should live.” (Acts 17) Israel received similar blessings when God threw out the wicked Canaanites and gave his people a fabulous land with flourishing cities, furnished homes, functioning wells, and fruitful orchards. But he warned them: “when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Deut.6) This is one of our challenges: to not forget who made it possible for us to enjoy such abundance. Have you been on a vacation recently? Have you enjoyed trips to Disney World or Mexico or Hawaii? Take a few seconds to bow in thanks to God for this undeserved abundance.