Waste Not

James 1:21b– But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves (NASB).

2.6 Billion people world-wide, that is 1.6 million in the U.S.A. alone, have no sanitation. Four out of ten people have no access to latrine, toilet, bucket or box.

The disease toll is stunning. One gram of feces can contain ten million viruses, one million bacteria, 1000 parasite cysts and 100 worm eggs. Those without proper sanitation ingest ten grams of fecal matter per day.

These startling facts are from Rose George’s shocking book, The Big Necessity, The World of Human Waste and Why It Matters.

Some will find this topic offensive, but I ask you. Would you want anyone near and dear to you to die from something easily cured with sewers, disposal units and sewage treatment plants? Of course not.

The world’s sewage problem is also a picture of what happens when we decline to tell someone about Jesus. Lives polluted with sin are just as poisonous as a lack of sanitation.

We can push for change by writing letters, challenging our political leaders, demanding clean up in the world of sewage and donating money, but most of all, we can share Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, we prefer to think lovely thoughts, but you also call us to see truth. Help us to be part of the solution, in both physical and spiritual ways. In Christ’s name. Amen.