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Structures of sin
Over $4.5 trillion dollars of the gross world product is related to "structures of sin." Some of these include:
| fraud | $800 billion |
| gambling | $700 billion |
| organized crime | $600 billion |
| tax fraud | $180 billion |
| drug traffic | $150 billion |
| shoplifting | $90 billion |
| computer crime | $44 billion |
| pornography | $20 billion |
By contrast, it is estimated that $520 billion-11.5% of this amount-would be sufficient to provide the world's poor with adequate food, water, education and shelter.
The global Body of Christ must challenge these structures of sin. First, of course, our concern is with the victims of these sins-the poor, the victimized, the ravaged. However, we should also consider the long-term effects of their elimination: every dollar taken by sin is a dollar that could have been devoted to aspects of world evangelization: preaching, relief and development, and even to such needy causes as research into cures for diseases, more productive agrarian techniques, and cheap, efficient shelters construction.