I've been reading about this woman, Marie Douglas-David, who is poor-me-ing about not receiving enough in her divorce settlement.

Apparently $43 million isn't enough to maintain her ho-hum lifestyle. According to an article in USA Today, "Douglas-David has filed court papers saying she has more than $53,800 in weekly expenses, including maintaining a Park Avenue apartment and three residences in Sweden. Also among her weekly expenses: $700 for limousine service, $4,500 for clothes, $1,000 for hair and skin treatments, $1,500 for restaurants and entertainment, and $8,000 for travel."

At church last week, we had a representative for Food for the Poor come and speak about his ministry. This organization provides water pumps, food, and housing for the poorest of the poor in the Caribbean and Latin America. According to the pamphlet, a donation of $2600 would build a house, $170 would provide a village with a water pump, and $21 would provide a meal for 420 children.

I can't help but think of these people when I read about the extravagances of the sickeningly rich. $4,500, which this Douglas-Davis diva spends on clothes each week, could almost build two houses for slum dwellers in Haiti. We're talking about sewage filled, trash strewn slums where people fight over garbage. They could have an escape.

How does that compute? I've been reading about what Jesus directed his followers to do, and one of his main messages was to advocate for and help the poor. What would he say about this woman? It almost brings me to tears to think of what this $43 million could really do.