WRITER: ENOCH JALLAH

Do you know that nearly half of the world’s population, more than 3 billion people, live on less than $2.50 a day, with more than 1.3 billion people living in extreme poverty; i.e less than $1.25 a day?

Do you also know that 1 billion children worldwide are living in poverty?

Permit me to ask you my last introductory question; do you know that hunger is the number one cause of death in the world, killing more than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined? You are surprised right?

According to UNICEF, an organisation that protects and defends the rights of every child in the world, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty.  In 2011, 165 million children under the age of 5 were stunted due to chronic malnutrition. Preventable diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia take the lives of 2 million children a year who are too poor to afford proper treatment.         
As of 2013, 21.8 million children under the age of 1 year worldwide had not received the three recommended doses of vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.

With all the above said, I don’t think it will be too necessary to ask whether you know that majority of the poor die earlier than the rich

A 2008 study by Congressional Budget Office found that the life expectancy gap between the rich and the poor in the United States, as well as the educated and less educated, has been growing since the 1980s. The highest socioeconomic groups in 2000 could expect to live 1.9 years longer than the lowest socioeconomic groups. That longevity gap had risen 1.6 years since 1980.

Rich people live longer than the poor in Asia as well as the Western world. The Korean National Pension Research Institute found in early 2011 that Koreans in the upper half of the income bracket live four years longer than Koreans in the bottom half, according to The Korea Times.

There is also biological proof that the rich age more slowly. Wealthier people apparently produce more of a hormone that has been linked to higher life expectancy, according to University College London researchers cited by The Telegraph.

But what at all is Poverty?

According to Wikipedia, Poverty refers to general scarcity or the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money.

Now, scroll up and take a look at the picture of the house above. What came into mind first? To most of us it was “wow”, and to others it was “herh money dey bee”. Let me whet your appetite with more luxurious buildings and cars.

I think these five will do.                             Don’t you wish to be the owner of those assets? Everybody wishes. This is one of the reasons why I don’t want to be poor. How can I live in one of these mansions if I’m poor. I can’t because these properties are acquired with a lot of money.

Brethren, join me as I take you through some of the reasons why I don’t want to be poor, and why you also shouldn’t wish to be poor.

1. It is Biblical;       

Deuteronomy 8                                           18 “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”              

It is the will of God that His children will live wealthy lives. Wealth comes from God, hence it is a good thing to become rich. Brethren, think about this; if God’s Kingdom is full of gold, even the streets of Heaven are made of gold, and we are His children, then why will He make us poor? Brethren, I get sad so many a times when I hear people back their poverty with scriptures. And you know what, they say this with pride. I hear people say “money is the root of all evil”. They always ignore the phrase “the love of”. If you believe you are the image of God then you shouldn’t be poor because our God is a rich God. As a matter of fact, those chosen by God in the Bible were all rich; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Solomon, and Job were all very rich.

2. Wealth can make you live longer:

I don’t need to say a lot about this point since I have already done that in my introduction.

Let me rather tell you a story about a great man who helped an African country gain freedom from their colonial masters. This man played a major role in helping his country gain independence. He then became the president of that country from 1994 to 1999. At a very old age this great man was on a life support to continue living for a while. The Telegraph wrote:

A relative of his confirmed for the first time that he is on life support, and using machines to help him breathe.

This man is no other than the late Nelson Mandela of South Africa.

How much does it cost to be on a life support?                                                 The Washington Post reports that a single day of life support in an intensive care unit typically costs between $2,000 and $4,000. The price varies according to the level of care that the patient requires.

Let’s do a little calculation here.

   If 1 day = $2,000                                       365 days = $(365 × 2,000)   
                  = $ 730,000.                                                                                     Therefore, being on a life support for 1 year is going to cost you $730,000. That’s a lot of money.

Now what point am I trying to make here?                                                            Money can buy you an extra life. Wealth can give you an ‘extra time’. You can’t be on a life support if you are not rich. No, you can’t. From the statistics above, we are informed that the poor die early as a result of their inability to seek proper treatment when struck with illness.

3. Poverty comes with discomfort :

One of the reasons why I don’t want to be poor is because I want to live a comfortable life.

The picture above shows the interior of the home of the rich and that of the poor. And I’m very sure we all know which of them is for the rich and which of them belongs to the poor. Friends, let’s be frank with each other. Which of the two rooms will make u feel comfortable?       
I know we all will say the one on the right, and that is very true. Just look at the decorations alone; it makes you feel so good. In the home of the poor, a small room is sometimes shared by more than 5 people. Whereas in the home of the rich, one person is to one furnished room. Isn’t this so comfortable?

Let’s take this also from a different perspective. Just some few days ago, my very good friend in school and I had a lift to lectures for the first time since we got admission into the university. We had a class at a time when the sun was really scorching. Fortunately for us we got a free ride to our college. When we got to our college we realised how comfortable we felt as compared to walking under the scorching sun as we use to do. Oh mine! It was so nice. No sweat as a result of walking under the sun. Our legs didn’t hurt. In fact it was so comfortable. The car I’m talking about was an opel astra car and yet we felt very comfortable. How much more if we had rode in some fully air conditioned Ferrari? This is possible when you are wealthy.

Money will make you ride in one of those comfortable cars. I sometimes hear people say buying more than two cars isn’t necessary and other stuffs. It’s funny to hear them talk like that when these same people have more than two shirts, two trousers, two shoes, and two belts. Why do they own more than two of these? The answer is simple; it’s because they can afford it. So it is the same way those who ride in more than two cars can afford them. Poverty will make you hate that which is actually good.

4. Wealth attracts respect:

Every human being wants to be respected by others in society. One of the ways to gain the respect of others is by being wealthy. Have you realised that during family events, such as parties, weddings, and funerals, the wealthy member of the family doesn’t involve himself in the arrangement of chairs, tables and other stuffs? Have you noticed that? That is the respect we are talking about.

Also in Ghana, where I come from, when you are rich, even the old men and women call you “wofa”; meaning uncle. You also hear others call the rich Chairman.

Also, what do you think will happen if evangelists go for outreach cruising in their chryslers, jaguars, range rovers, the Ferrari and others? (Note that all the cars mentioned in this piece are my choice of cars). Don’t you think people will be more willing to listen to them, and even give their lives to Jesus Christ after? They absolutely will. But it’s rather unfortunate that most of the people we preach to see themselves to be more wealthier than us, and they are like “I should come and follow your God and be poor like you? Hell No?” Most of them see evangelists as beggars. I remember after preaching in a trotro (public transport) one day, one woman shouted from the back seat saying “why won’t you take money?”. She asked this question because I didn’t ask them to pay offertory after I finished preaching. So in a way I think she thought I was new to the business and she was trying to tell me about the norm of the day. So you see Brethren, we need money to win more souls for Christ.

Other reasons why I wouldn’t want to be poor are:

1. I want to travel all over the world. I want to travel to Dubai in a business class flight and spend the weekends there with my family.

2. I want to be a philanthropist.

3. I want to live a luxurious life that will bring glory to God.

Brethren, poverty is never an option. Poverty brings no good than frustration, which will eventually lead you to death.

In conclusion,  Bill Gate once said

If you are a young boy or girl and your parents are poor, make sure you grow becoming very rich. Don’t die poor.

Also, if you are an adult it’s never too late. You can still make it in life. Just change the dream and change the way you think too.

Poverty can be eradicated so that we all can live good lives. This can only be done if we change our actions and the way we think. Remember poverty is as a result of our own actions.

It is very true that both the poor and the rich will be buried at the same place, but both weren’t the same when they were alive. One lived a very good life whiles the other lived ‘from hand to mouth’

It is not a sin to make money. The problem lies in how the money was made; either through a genuine way or a foul means. I will try my very best to write an article on “The Two Major Sources Of Wealth”

The option is yours now friends.
Do you want to be poor and see your children stunted and join the 22,000 poor children that die each day? Or you want to be rich in order for you and your children to enjoy life to the fullest?

I will encourage each and everyone to dream to become rich in the future. Don’t just dream, but work the dream out into reality.

Let’s come together and eradicate poverty.

See you on the opposite side of poverty where we will be living a very very good life to the glory of God.

God bless you and stay blessed.