6 Nov 2013 by Adeline Lum CM-
Dr Dion Forster, international coordinator of EXPOSED and plenary speaker for the Alpha Workplace Conference in Penang, spoke about why poverty still exists in our resourceful world today.
So, how does our world system look like today? According to the most recent ‘100 People: A World Portrait'1,2:
- 48 people would live on less than USD 2 per day
- 23 people would not have a shelter from the weather
- 15 people would be undernourished
- 13 people would have no clean or safe water to drink
- 1 out of 2 children would live in poverty
- 1 would be dying of starvation
Psalm 24:1
The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
Citing Psalm 24:1, Dr Dion asked, “If the earth is the Lord’s, how does God feel when one person has too much while the other has too little?” According to the UN FAO, 870 million people suffer from chronic malnourishment3. Yet, the paradox is that there are more overweight people in this world compared to those who are undernourished and dying of starvation combined1.
How much do we need to eradicate world poverty and stabilize the population? The total cost is USD 175 billion a year, which is less than one percent of the combined income of the riches countries in the world4. But a whopping one trillion dollars per year is lost in worldwide bribery and corruption! Imagine if this money is used to solve global poverty instead.
Dr Dion shared that the English word ‘economics’ comes from two Greek words, which is ‘oikos’ meaning household and ‘nomes’ meaning to manage. Put together, it means to manage the household of God, which is our duty as believers in Christ.
Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
Luke 4:18-19
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
“Good news to the poor is returning their dignity and their right to contribute to the family’s well being,” said Dr Dion. He shared how Christians will only attract other people by living out their faith. Like how Timothy Keller shared (i.e. Generous Justice, p. 140), “Justification by faith leads to doing justice, and doing justice can make many seek to be justified by faith.”
In short, corruption and bribery have an inextricable link to global poverty, which can be eradicated if everyone in the workplace works to end this parasitic culture.
Desmond Tutu
Do your little bit of good where you are. It’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
Dr Dion shared how Graham Power, the owner of one of the largest construction company in South Africa, accepted God through an Alpha Course in his church. From there onwards, God led Graham to start the Global Day of Prayer (GDOP) and Unashamedly Ethical. A twin movement, both of these movements must work together in praying to God and calling upon people to stand up for justice and ethics in the workplace.
Isaiah 51:4
Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Instruction will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations.
Do you want to help end poverty? Go to https://signup.exposed2013.com/p/ and place your signature in the running for one million signatures to be taken to G20 leaders to propose in taking one percent of world’s GDP to end poverty.
For more information, please visit:
(EXPOSED is also a global campaign to show the far-reaching and destructive effects of corruption, which tagline is, “Corruption has a name and poverty has a face”)
References for the information in the article:
http://www.100people.org/statistics_100stats.php
http://www.100people.org/statistics_detailed_statistics.php?section=statistics
http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm
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