“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does”
2 Corinthians 10:3
Today there are over five billion people on planet Earth. Over
half of these people live in countries and conditions that have been
labeled Third World. This term was invented by a French economist
who was attempting to describe the various groupings of peoples
throughout the world based on their socio-economic status. Whether
or not this term is valid, it is generally accepted as a description or
element of identification for millions of people.
I was born and live in a part of the world that is said to fall
within this category. The term is defined as any people who did not
benefit from or participate in the industrial revolution. A large
majority of these people were not allowed to benefit from or participate
in the industrial revolution because they were subjugated at
that time, being used to fuel the economic base for that revolution.
Many of them were reduced to slaves and indentured servants, thus
robbing them of their identity, dignity, self-worth, and self-respect.
Today, despite changes in conditions and a greater measure of
freedom and independence, many are still grappling with their identity
and their sense of self-worth. Many of the nations that progressed
and developed through the industrial revolution have
reinforced (by attitudes, policies, and legislations) the notion that
these Third World peoples do not possess the potential to develop the
skills, intelligence, and sophistication necessary to equal that of
industrialized states.
It is crucial that we do not inhibit our potential to chart a new
course for the future by being destroyed by our preoccupation with
the past. We have the responsibility to deposit the wealth of our
potential in this generation so the next generation can build their
future on our faithfulness to becoming everything we can possibly be.
Just as there is a forest in every seed, so I am certain there is a new
world within your world. Whatever God calls for, He provides for.
We have the responsibility to deposit the wealth of our potential in this generation.
