Spoiled Brats

Jeremiah asked God why the wicked prospered while the good folks suffered. It is an age-old question that God has been asked perhaps zillion of times. God answers Jeremiah beginning with this statement:

“If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?” (Jeremiah 12:5 NKJV).

If you are lost in the imagery and the history of God’s answer, let me simplify it for you. Basically, if you have struggled in good times, how will you fare when it really gets tough.

If you freak out when you forget to get your favorite coffee K-cups, how will you cope if there is no coffee?

There are many people in the United States who are suffering through terrible difficulties. I have friends right now who are going through their own hell. This post is not about those with legitimate difficulties. Bear with me, while I make the comfortable, uncomfortable.

We have a lot of spoiled people. Most folks in the United States suffer with first world problems. They are sad because they do not have the latest iPhone or because the price of Whoppers has gone up. Remember when Covid hit, and people were freaking out over a shortage of toilet paper. I have spent some time in a country where they do not use toilet paper. I managed just fine. Enough said!

In some of the countries where I have traveled many of the modern conveniences are nonexistent or scarce. Common tasks like taking a bath or brushing your teeth take an extra step or two instead of simply turning a faucet handle. If potable water is limited, you only put a pea-sized dab of toothpaste on your brush rather than a full spread because it takes less water to rinse your mouth and brush. Now, even at home, I only use a pea-size dab.

Do you realize that about one-fourth of the people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water? And many of them do not have a toothbrush.

I can take a good bath, if necessary, with a five-gallon bucket of water. Spending time in a third-world home without a refrigerator or electricity will give you another perspective on convenience and food safety. I have eaten a lot of eggs that were near a month old that had never seen a refrigerator.

The HHS 2024 poverty level in the United States is $15,060 for a one-person household and $31,200 for a family of four. According to the World Bank almost one-half of the world lives on less than $6.85 per day (about $2500/year). If you live in a household of $50,000 or more per year, you live better than about ninety-nine percent of the world.

Even if you do not have health insurance or money, no emergency room in the United States will turn you away. If you dial 911, someone will show up at your door except in a few, rare places. In many places on the earth, if you are in trouble, no one is coming for you.

We in the United States are spoiled, yet it is now in vogue to be a victim. I do not want anyone to feel sorry for me. I was not born into wealth or high society privilege, but I have never gone to bed hungry except for purposeful fasting. Those of us living in the United States have it better than about ninety percent of the world. Our poor live better than the middle class in most countries. We have only run with the footmen, yet we act like we have contended with the horsemen. Buckle up baby, I hear the rumble of hoofbeats.

If you don’t like it here in the United States, you can buy an economy one-way ticket to the farthest corner of the planet for less than $1500. If you promised to live like the locals and stay for at least six months, I know some folks who would pay for your passage. The international arrival hallways from the jet-way leading to the Passport Control at Miami and Atlanta Airports have kiss marks on the floor (some are mine). When I make my first call on arrival to my wife, I say, “Hey baby, I can hitch-hike from here!”

One thing for sure, no one is advocating to build a wall to prevent people from leaving the United States! Personally, I’m tired of rich people driving expensive cars and living in million-dollar houses complaining how bad it is here. Take a trip to a dark corner of the world Sugar Cookie and you will change your mind.

Yours on the Journey,

Harry L. Whitt

(11)  Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
(12)  I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
(13)  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:11-13 NKJV