Before reading this post, take a moment to test your knowledge of global trends by taking this short quiz:
http://forms.gapminder.org/s3/test-2018
Do you find yourself becoming numb to the daily barrage of terrible news? With frequent bombings, mass shootings, effects of climate change, racism, war, the threat of war, and so on, it becomes easy to form a rather dismal outlook on life. A recent Pew Research Center survey across 44 different nations shows that 2 out of 3 people polled are discouraged concerning the direction of their nation. A different survey by the same organization shows that half of those polled believe that life is worse today for them than for people like them in their country 50 years ago. It’s rare to find a public opinion poll about the trajectory of the US, or of the world, that shows belief in positive global trends.
I remember being blown away the first time I ever saw a large photomosaic, where a larger image is made of many thousands of much smaller images. In a photomosaic, the smaller photos may or may not have anything to do with the larger picture, but they play their one small part in forming the whole. If you zoom in and look at the individual shots for very long, you can forget what the larger image is altogether.
We tend to do the same thing with global trends. Because we live our lives on timescales as small as seconds, minutes, days, and years, we don’t readily see what is happening over decades, centuries, and millennia. The small portrait we see today (largely influenced by the news media which is predicated on sensationalism – and I’m not placing all the blame on the media as they create the content we demand) becomes our perception of reality.
Enter 2 paradigm-shifting books.
In Factfulness, the late Swedish physician Hans Rosling deals with the mindsets that predispose us toward a negative outlook on life, and he gives ‘ten reasons why things are better than you think.’ His book is underwritten by reams of data from the UN and is a fantastic, entertaining, and highly informative read. If you didn’t do so well on the quiz at the beginning of the post, you might want to check out his book!
Abundance, by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler, touches on the mindsets elaborated on in Factfulness, but does a deep dive into profiling the individuals, technologies, and organizations creating change around the world, while detailing the systemic changes our planet’s most vulnerable individuals still need to create a world of abundance for all.
I have been greatly moved by both books for a number of reasons:
- My own biases have been exposed. I didn’t realize how much I have let our culture determine how I view the world.
- The data and anecdotes presented are incredibly hopeful. But while they are hopeful, they are not ‘pie in the sky’ as they are backed by highly reputable data.
- Most pointedly, however, I have been reflecting on Genesis 1 and 2 and how God gave mankind stewardship of the earth. In this light, Christians, in my opinion, should lead the way not only in evangelism and discipleship, but also in providing potable water for the world’s poorest billion without access to clean drinking water. The church (note: the people, not the institutions) should be pioneers and innovators in renewable energy, agriculture, healthcare, and every other field discussed in Abundance where we need breakthrough to alleviate suffering and to elevate quality of life in every corner of the globe. The people of God are called to care for souls, yes, but also for the systems that support the souls.
May our own mindsets become increasingly Biblical and influenced by what is actually happening all around us today. If you end up reading either of these books, I would love to hear your feedback!