From the standpoint of material wealth, we Americans have difficulty realizing how rich we are. In tomorrow’s Gospel (Luke 12:13-21), Jesus talks about the rich man who tears down his barns to build bigger ones to store all his crops.

Robert Heilbroner, who has written dozens of books on the subject of the economy, suggests that we go through a little mental exercise that will help us to count our blessings.

Imagine doing the following, and you will see what daily life is like for more than a billion people in our world.

1. Take out all the furniture in your home except for one table and a couple of chairs. Use a blanket and pads for beds.

2. Take away all of your clothing except for your oldest dress or suit, shirt or blouse or pants. Leave only one pair of shoes.

3. Empty the pantry and the refrigerator except for a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a few potatoes, some onions, and a dish of dried beans.

4. Dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, and remove all the electrical wiring in your house.

5. Take away the house itself and move the family into the tool shed.

6. Place your “house” in a shantytown.

7. Get rid of your computer, tablet and smart phone. This is no great loss because now none of you can read anyway.

8. Leave only one radio for the whole shantytown.

9. Move the nearest hospital or clinic ten miles away and put a midwife in charge instead of a doctor.

10. Throw away your bankbooks, stock portfolios, pension plans, and insurance policies. Leave the family a cash hoard of ten dollars.

11. Give the head of the family a few acres to cultivate on which he can raise a few hundred dollars of cash crops, of which one third will go to the landlord and one tenth to the money lenders.

12. Lop off twenty-five or more years in life expectancy.

By comparison how rich we are! And with our wealth comes responsibility. We should use it wisely, not be wasteful, and help others. I have traveled in Third World countries and spent time with the materially poor. The above describes very accurately the daily life of over a billion people on our planet.

Imagine doing one of the above 12, just one. I tried, and I cannot pick one of the 12.

THE DESPERATELY POOR LEARN EARLY IN LIFE WHAT IT TAKES MOST OF US A LIFETIME TO LEARN….WE’RE JUST PASSING THROUGH!