Well, it’s official. Australian’s now live in the world’s largest homes, at a staggering average of 214.6 square meters (2,310 square feet).

And as if that statistic wasn’t bad enough on it’s own, here’s another one that comes with it. The average number of people living in these extraordinarily large homes? 2.56 people.

What I’m about to say, I also say to myself, so please don’t think I”m judging people, but:

PEOPLE ARE DYING

It’s really easy to just gloss over that statement, especially when it’s a thousand miles away, so I’ll say it again.

PEOPLE ARE DYING!

I know that we don’t have the resources to help them all, but we do have the ability to save many of the 26,000 people who died today from poverty related conditions (lack of food, lack of clean water, preventable diseases, etc).

And yet, because it’s not in our face, it’s so easy to ignore, and continue to fill our homes with plasma screens, dishwashers, dryers, air conditioning, blu-ray players, expresso machines, and the like. We’re becoming addicted to comfort, including bigger homes.

I think it’s healthy for us to have a think now and then about what we would say to some of those 26,000 people who will die tomorrow from poverty. What would we say? Because perhaps what we’re already saying now is, “it’s more important for me to have a 950 watt food processor so I can dice my carrots faster, than to help you”.

I’ve said it before, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with us enjoying the blessings we have, but sometimes I think we can become unbalanced in this area, and forget our responsibilities to those who are suffering.