How Sad & Frustrating

I saw this somewhere in the blog world, but lost connection, therefore I cannot give credit

From Relevant Magazine:

Nov/Dec. 2006, page 30 (Sobering Fact #23)


If Christians had given the traditional 10 percent tithe of their income to their churches in 2004, instead of the 2.56 percent that they actually gave, there would have been an additional $164 billion available, according to a report released in October called "The State of Church Giving through 2004." If the churches chose to funnel just $70-80 billion of that additional income to missions and humanitarian works, the basic needs of every person on the globe would be provided.

All I can say is WOW. Of course, I do have to ask myself some very important questions, assuming most of this money is being given to the local church:

1. Would the church "funnel" these funds to humanitarian projects, missionaries, and other various organizations to help eradicate the most basic needs of the world? Or would they build larger buildings, spend more money on various programming, pay the "staff" larger salaries, put more into retirement accounts, etc.

Also, if the above statement is true, the very fact that the world suffers is because Christian simply lack the obedience to give back to God what he requires. How tragic!