If your Pockets are Feeling Empty…

It's 4th of July time. Independence Day is one of the big travel holidays, which means that gas prices have risen again. As of today, the price per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States is $2.93. It will probably be over $3 a gallon soon. That's a lot of money.

I saw an article somewhere that said that in the summer of 2004, average U.S. gas prices were $1.70, which is $1.23 lower than they are today. Thinking about how high gas prices are, I decided to figure out how much more we spend now on gas than we did two years ago.

Let's say that you, as an average American, filled up your 12 gallon gas tank once a week for the 13 weeks of summer in 2004 (that's about how much gas I use):

• 12 (gallons) x 13 (weeks) x $1.70 (2004 price) = $265.20

In the summer of 2006, with the same car, your results will be somewhat different:

• 12 (gallons) x 13 (weeks) x $2.93 (2006 price) = $457.08

That's an extra $191.88 that you're spending in gas money this summer compared to two years ago. And that doesn't even take into account the fact that gasoline consumption has actually increased over the last two years as well, so you're probably spending even more extra than the $191.88. And if you're like me, you might complain about it, but you still pay it, because as a rich American, you can afford to, and you want to drive around your car whenever you want to.

Oh, and speaking of that $191.88, that surplus money that you're spending on gas, that's roughly what an average person in Somalia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Nigeria, or a dozen other countries would make over the course of that same 13 weeks. Total. Yikes.

We are incredibly blessed in this country, and we should take note of all that we have been given and be very thankful for it. James 1.17 says that God is the giver of every good gift, and we should be thankful to him for what he's given us. Let's do as much for him as we can with what we've been given.