The Top 1% Challenge

Recently I was doing one of the L.C.I. Exercises on gratitude and God impressed upon me where I am in the overall social order of the world, not something we think about very often, today was one of those days.  When you consider that there are over 7,000,000,000 people in the world (that’s a lot of people) I am very much in the ‘privileged few’.  Let’s look at the facts: I am a 61 year old, healthy, white, married male, living in the United States. I graduated from college and completing my master’s degree.  I was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, own my own business with employees, and a pension.  I own 2 cars, a house, an office building and more personal property than I can use. We have 3 successful married children and 7 healthy grandchildren.  The death of my father 7 years ago is the only immediate family member I have lost to date. 

 

In other words I have economic capital, social capital, political capital, emotional capital and physical capital.  When you look at the vast majority of the other 7 billion people and their circumstances, I am in the unique position of literally being in the top 1% of all this world’s citizens.  Here’s the catch; I can look at this like many people do saying “I am where I am because I am smart, hardworking, diligent, gifted and wise”.  That is certainly one paradigm that many people like me use to explain why they are where they are.    For many years I believed all that, I thought that was why I was successful. There is a problem with that paradigm; it is void of the grace and work of God.  That view was foundationally rooted in pride, arrogance, self-righteousness and egotism.

The ‘truth be told’ I did learn how to work the system, was incredibly fortunate to have been born into the family and world I was born into and was surrounded by countless numbers of people who loved, supported and encouraged me.  Most important I have a God who was protecting me and guiding me through all the various phases of my life. Quite literally, much of what I have is an unwarranted gift from God.  I really didn’t deserve any of it. 

The bigger question for today though is; what have I done with this incredible gift that God has given me?  How have I ‘paid it forward’ and given this gift to others rather than consuming it on myself?  These ‘dark-side, ego-based’ sins are at the foundation of my soul.  In and of myself I fall very far short of giving God the glory and extending His grace to those around me.  He continues to convict me about all of these concerns. He is progressively moving me toward a greater care and compassion for all those who are less fortunate, who have less capital than I do, who are suffering through life because of lack and depravity.  I am only beginning to understand how a top ‘1%er’ might live into this truth.