Have you ever stopped to notice the things that you worry about? If you were to make a list of the last three things you worried about, what would be on it? I ask this question because most of us live fairly insulated lives. We have a place to live. We have enough food to eat. We are not in danger of starvation or homelessness or dying from a simple infection because we can’t afford antibiotics. We are insulated from the dangers of extreme poverty that afflict about 689 million people worldwide. That’s almost 10% of the world’s population, just in case you were doing math in your head. (1)

The problems most of us complain about are a little less life-threatening. In fact, our problems are so minimal in comparison to the rest of the world that they have earned a strange nickname: First Wor…