SHALLOW LIVES
A few statistics clarify a problem. The figures I have are from five years ago, but I believe the comparisons are still the same. Americans gave $2.9 billion dollars to overseas missions. That sounds pretty good until you find out that we spend $8.4 billion to see movies, $13 billion to buy chocolate, $23 billion to buy toys, $34 billion to buy stuff for our pets, $24 billion for jewelry, $58 billion for soft drinks…the list goes on. One look at our checkbooks shows what we truly believe is important. We are living shallow lives.
(Source: from a sermon by Anne Benefield, "Becoming Good Dirt" 7/14/08, SermonCentral.com)