If I Had a Million Dollars

The conversion rate of US dollars to Cambodian riels is roughly four thousand. $1 USD = 4000$ KHR. So do the math. To be a millionaire in Cambodia you need roughly $250 US dollars. Or to be more concrete, you need to be able to own an iPod. Your money will definitely go further in Cambodia like it will in many other parts of the world but don't get me wrong, you can't move to Cambodia and live like a king or queen with $250. It is helpful however to know that for a lot of people that's close to how much money they will see in a year. On the street, you can eat well for a dollar or two a meal. Most of our gang got hooked on the ice coffee which made paying for Starbucks on our arrival home ludicrous considering a bag of ice coffee (yes, everything "to go" comes in a bag, an icy bag at that) costs about 50 cents. But here's the point: you are filthy rich.

You.

Yes you, boy or girl sitting in front of the computer.

You are dirty, stinkin' filthy rich.

Maybe you already know this, so I apologize for the lecturing tones. It's just something that really hit us. Sure you could argue that you're in debt with the line of credit, mortgage and all, that your neighbour just got that fancy new flat screen, that, boohoo, you don't have the right outfit for your friend's wedding this Saturday. Boohoo. Really, I mean this, please listen, we are richly blessed. So richly blessed.

I was talking to a friend this past week, someone who has also seen the poverty around the world. He shared how he was scared that one day he would come face to face with God. The fear is not coming face to face with God in itself, although that would be terrifying. The scary part is that both he and God would know that he knew the poverty out there, that he was richly blessed here on earth, and that he had seen the suffering of his brother and sister and did...

...nothing? something? went ahead and bought your 10th pair of shoes? You fill in the blank.

I often think back to the story of a guy in the Bible who wanted eternal life. So naturally he approached Jesus and, "How do I get eternal life?" Jesus rambles off a few of the Ten Commandments. And this guy, who we are told is a ruler of some sort, says I've kept this since I was a boy. Great, he's on the right track, right? Then Jesus says, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Boom, it hits him. Maybe he takes a step back. This guy is rich. Like I mentioned, he's ruler. Maybe rulers dressed a certain way, maybe everyone knew of this guy, probably had a good reputation. Sell everything...everything?

This is one of those texts I've glossed over more often than not - you know when you read something but then realize you didn't actually listen to what you've read. My two working observations/applications are

1) this does not actually apply to me because I am not rich;
2) if I were rich I would not sell everything because although Jesus was speaking literally to this guy he is speaking metaphorically to us.

I'm not so sure anymore.

The Images

Here they are. If you want some more description, follow the link to the actual Flickr site.