As i've said, i really didnt want to get into a discussion on what constitutes being rich for its a very subjective judgement thats dependent on the attitude and expectations of the person making the judgement and just who theyre comparing themselves with. But if you want to push the issue. then i'd first of all say the figure i quoted was for a bedsit/house share and left around£100 a week after all the bills had been paid, and thats for someone on the minimum wage, many people in the UK earn more than the minimum wage, many earn far more than the minimum wage. On top of that you need to take into account that all of us benefit from living in a rich, industrialised country where theres clean water, improved sanitation, free health care, free education for children, a social security and welfare system and many charities that cater for the needs of specific groups who need extra care.
You really need to look into the conditions billions of people in Gods world have to endure, the hundreds of millions that "live" on a couple of $'s a day, the rates of infant mortality from hunger and disease, the lack of clean water, the lack of health provision and education and an almost total absence of any sort of social security and welfare system. If you cant work through illness, old age or whatever then unless you have very caring friends and neighbours you starve, or beg, or send your children out selling themselves so that the family survives.
As i said in my last post, i wish i could take you to the slums, Favelas and hovels that the poor of this world inhabit and let you experience their lives for a year, then come back to this country and see if you have the same opinion.
You cannot compare living standards in the west to a third world country. The expenses are totally different. Sure the basic facts are correct but you are using a false logical comparison to dismiss real, systemic issues in the UK. Comparing a modern western nation to a developing country`s slum is a logical fallacy known as "relative privation"(the "starving children in Africa" argument) which ignores the actual cost of living, systemic erosion,and relative poverty. Of course the UK has better infrastructure than a developing nation`s slums. But the UK is the 6th largest economy in the world. Measuring the success of a major G7 nation by saying" at least we aren`t slum"sets an incredibly low bar. A country can be wealthy on paper while its citizens experience severe wage stagnation and a decaying social fabric.
Your personal experience in a bedsit is an exception, not the rule.
Housing costs in UK are currently among the highest in Europe, the gap between the statutory minimum wage and the real living wage is several thousand pounds a year.
Millions of working households are officially classed as living in poverty because wages have not kept pace with the cost of energy, food and rent. If you have 100 pounds left over every single week in a bedsit after all bills, food and transport you are either paying well low below market rent or living incredibly restrictively.
You are describing UK 20 years ago, not today.
While the infrastructure exists, it is heavily eroded. The NHS has record high waiting lists, social security systems often require people to skip meals to survive, and local government funding cuts have severly damaged community support systems. Relying on charities to cover basic human needs isnt a sign of a thriving rich country,its a symptom of failing state safety net.
I think you are confusing two different things. Noone is arguing that the UK is literally a third world country, so trying to compare a G7 nation to a slum is a false equivalence. Of course we have sanitation and running water, but measuring the success of one of the world`s richest economies by saying "at least we aren`t slum" is a remarkable low bar to set.
Your bedsit situation is great for you, and its good that you have a financial buffer. But your personal experience doesn`t change the broader economic data. Millions of people in the UK work full time and still rely on food banks because wages have stagnated while rent, energy and food prices have spiked. The offical real living wage data shows massive gap between what people actually need to survive and what minimum wage pays.
Pointing to free health care and "charities" ignores the reality that the NHS is under severe strain and charities are stepping in precisely because the government safety net is failing. Two things can be true at once: the UK has the infrastructure of a wealthy, industrialised nation, but it is also facing a massive, documented cost- of -living crisis that is pushing millions of working people into relative poverty. Expecting a modern economy to function properly for its citizens isnt complaining- its holding a wealthy country to the standard its supposed to meet.
Jesus condemns the LOVE of money and the hoarding of wealth while ignoring the poor- He does not condemn ordinary people trying to survive.
You are completely misapplying the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
The rich man wasn`t condemned for simply exsisting in a wealthy society, he was condemned because he feasted sumptuously every day and completely ignored a starving, suffering man right at his doorstep.
There is a massive scriptural difference between a wealthy person hoarding excessive riches while ignoring the needy,and an ordinary person in the UK using their wages to pay for rent, heating and the groceries. In fact, scripture explicitly commands us to be responsible. 1 Timothy 5:8 says that if anyone does not provide for their own household,they have denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever. Having enough money to cover your basic living costs and bills isnt sinful wealth- its biblical stewardship.
Even Agu`rs prayer in proverbs 30:8 asks God for a balance: give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Also, by your own logic,if your bedsit leaves you with an extra hundred pounds every single week and you are keeping it, you are hoarding excess money. If you aren`t giving every single spare penny of that hundred pounds away the moment you get it,you are doing exactly what you are accusing others of. Telling people who are struggling paycheck to paycheck they are "against God" for paying their bills are legalistic,uncharitable and completely misses the heart of Jesus teachings.
