Inspired by the book Life in a Global Village by Gary Miller
To appreciate our blessings this Thanksgiving season, imagine living in a village of 100 people from around the globe. Each person in your village represents 82 million people living today.
Two of your neighbors are atheists. They don’t believe in God, so they have no god to thank.
Six are animists. They typically don’t thank God, but sometimes give thanks to the spirits of trees, rivers, and wildlife.
Twenty-one people are part of folk and tribal religions. Similar to animists, they might thank spirits or their deceased ancestors.
Six of your neighbors are Buddhists. They don’t thank a creator god, but instead direct their gratitude to other people, including the Buddha.
Thirteen of your neighbors are Hindus. Instead of thanking one supreme creator for everything, they might thank one god for wealth, one god for fine weather, one god for health, etc.
Twenty people in your village are Muslims. They thank Allah for all their blessings, for sending the prophet Muhammad, and for the Koran, their holy book.
Thirty-two people in your village say they are Christians. Many of them thank God for their blessings, but don’t obey all of Jesus’ teachings. [1]
Income
In your village of 100 people, ten people earn less than $3.00 per day. In some places, it’s very difficult to find work. In other places, work is available, but simply pays very little.
Forty-two people earn between $3 and $10 per day. This young man (above) graduated from a SALT Vocational School in Uganda where he learned to weld. He now earns an average daily wage of about $6.
Forty-five people earn between $10 and $100 per day.
Only three people earn more than $100 per day. [2]
Housing
Many of our neighbors in the global village don’t have large comfortable homes.
Some of the cheapest houses are built of natural materials such as mud, bamboo, or thatch.
Fifteen of your neighbors live in slums such as this one in Caracas, Venezuela. [3]
Controlling the indoor temperature is a luxury many people in developing countries can’t afford. In our village of 100 people, only 8 people have air conditioners in their houses. [4]
In cold-climate countries, heating isn’t a luxury, it’s needed for survival.
People in Ukraine are grateful for coal and firewood this season, especially since their energy grid is under attack because of the ongoing war.
Two of your neighbors don’t have a permanent home. [5] They were forced to flee from their homes because of war, persecution, or other conflict. They might live in a refugee camp, with relatives in another country, or rent an apartment in another part of their home country.
So how do we respond to our global neighbors this Thanksgiving season?
In Life in a Global Village, Gary Miller writes,
“We live in an extremely unusual time. Never before has such a great disparity in wealth existed in our world. . . . Perhaps there has never been a time when Paul’s words to the church at Corinth are so applicable. Paul encouraged the Corinthians to share with poor believers living in another country ‘that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance may also be a supply for your want: that there may be equality.’ May the Lord bless you, ‘now at this time,’ as you wisely share what God has placed in your care.”
[1] Gary Miller, Life in a Global Village
[2] World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform <https://pip.worldbank.org>. Accessed on 11/25/2025.
[3] 2023 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Report
[4] Gary Miller, Housing in a Global Village presentation
[5] Global Trends Report 2024, UNHCR
