I posted back in February an article in which I shared research I'd compiled regarding how "great" or not-so-great the United States of America ranks in various categories. The positive thing that America ranks #1 in is generosity, but how generous is it, really?
I started thinking about this. Are we not the richest nation, or at least live the most richly? One of the only other two things I successfully found that ranked us at #1 was gross domestic product (GDP).
So it follows that the richest nation damn well ought to be the most generous. It's got far more ability to do so. It's much easier to give and to want (or not mind, at the very least) to give to help others when one is able. Many nations' people cannot afford to do so.
This reminds me of the Jewish prophet Jesus' parable of the widow and the two copper mites (See Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:3-4 in the Christian New Testament).
She would have been cast in the lot with the "least generous" if ranked by how much she gave. But she had given all that she had. The rich men gave what appeared to be much, but really it was little if seen in accordance with the status of wealth.
How would our great nation of the United States of America rank if generosity was calculated Jesus-style?
How would the rich nation with the #1 world ranking of GDP who boasts about its "most generous" ranking face under Jesus' judgement, if he was elected a judge? Hmm... What was that saying that Jesus is well-known for saying? Something about how hard it is for a rich man to do something...
