Dear
Friend,
I am a bit late in writing this monthly letter to you due to just returning from a trip to Chile and Peru to visit readers of the Spanish edition of The Good News and members of the United Church of God congregations in Santiago and Lima. It never ceases to be a tremendous encouragement to me personally to see how lives are being changed by people learning and responding to the truth of God.
The gospel we proclaim is so desperately needed, and the return of Christ that the gospel promises cannot come to pass soon enough!
Chile and Peru are typical of many of the world's nations in that most of society is either physically "have" or "have not," with few in what we call the "middle class." Yet that is only one way of measuring wealth and success.
I saw a report not long ago that highlighted one of the terrible disparities in the world today—that between the "haves" and the "have nots"—a disparity that can only be solved by the rule of Jesus Christ. The report cited:
- The 20 percent of the world's people in the highest-income countries account for 86 percent of total private expenditures; the poorest 20 percent account for only 1.3 percent.
- The richest 20 percent consume 45 percent of all meat and fish; the poorest fifth, only 5 percent.
- The richest 20 percent consume 58 percent of total energy; the poorest, less that 4 percent.
- The richest 20 percent own 87 percent of the world's vehicles; the poorest 20 percent own less that 1 percent.
God cares deeply for the poor and the oppressed. He also has a deeper purpose in mind for both the poor and the rich. In fact, He measures wealth in a very different way. Jesus redirected our thinking when He said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).
What are the things that God treasures? What is it that no man can take from you—that will last forever? Where does God want our hearts to be? What do we treasure and seek above all else? Are we rich in the treasures of God?
When we consider the treasures of God and the treasures on earth, we see basically four ways to measure people and their state of life:
- Those who are physically poor and spiritually poor.
- Those who are physically poor and spiritually rich.
- Those who are physically rich and spiritually poor.
- Those who are physically rich and spiritually rich.
God said of the poor church of Smyrna, "I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich)" (Revelation 2:9). He treasures those who are spiritually wealthy—faithful, hungry for His Kingdom and His way of life, knowledgeable of His Word, zealous, sincerely striving to live a godly life in the face of great difficulties.
Over the years I have seen people living in a crushing daily grind of never-ending poverty, or under the threat of violent and unstable societies, and yet they were spiritually rich. They understood the need for God's Kingdom to come. I have also seen many people living in wealth and comfort with virtually no physical challenges, yet their lives were spiritually eroded by materialism, self-sufficiency and the busy lifestyle that sacrifices spiritual pursuits in order to maintain the physical standards. In their spiritual poverty it never crosses their minds that they need God's Kingdom. Who is truly rich in God's sight?
In this "measure of treasure" only the spiritually rich have any kind of true wealth. Our continual desire at The Good News is to keep this concept alive, to keep our readers' eyes on the really important things in life!
 I am happy to report that The Good News English-language print quantity for the May/June 2007 issue is 464,574—a little over 31,000 more than for the previous March/April issue. One way we are increasing subscribers is by contacting over 8.7 million households in the United States through card-pack mailers. So far this fiscal year, 40,351 new subscribers have responded to an offer of a Good News subscription and a booklet through this promotion.
On another front, in April we began free, experimental satellite telecasting of Beyond Today video programs on the Omega Channel from Johannesburg, South Africa. The Omega Channel is a premium quality direct-to-home Christian satellite television service that can be received virtually anywhere in Africa and major parts of Europe with a small satellite dish. The Omega Channel is available on "View Africa Network," which has a potential audience of 200 million people in Africa and Europe. Telecasting via the INSAT 10 satellite, orbital position 68.5 degrees east, frequency 12682 MHz, Beyond Today has been telecasting at 11 p.m. (Central Africa Time) on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Be sure to watch all of our Beyond Today video programs online at www.beyondtoday.tv. A full television log of all our channels can be found online at www.beyondtoday.tv/stations.
We are continually looking for effective ways to preach the gospel, and these are just a couple of examples. As always, we deeply appreciate your interest and involvement in the work of the United Church of God. We hope you are spiritually richer for it!
Clyde
Kilough
President
United Church of God
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