Rodney Olsen’s The Journey blog contains a recent post about how he received a surprising welcome when arriving in Delhi as part of a team of cyclists representing the Bible Society. I have encountered similar celebrity treatment when arriving at a school in Africa and finding the full ceremonial welcome prepared for me.
The problem stems in part from extreme differences in income and power. I don’t feel rich, but I have an above-average income for an Australian, and anyone in Australia who has an average income is in the wealthiest 2.5% of people in the world. When I meet with people who are in the poorest 10% of people in the world, it is hard to comprehend that my income is one thousand times as high as theirs. In their eyes this makes me a very “big man”.
I wish I could just do what most “wealthy” people do and ignore the situation, getting on with living my own life. But the problem is that I live in the same world as the poorest 10%, and now that I have met them it’s impossible for me to deny that they’re my neighbours. It is impossible for me to deny that God has trusted me with extensive resources, and my job is to invest those resources as effectively as I can.