Can you imagine what it would be like if New York City had no working water system? You can get a hint by looking at another city: Caracas, Venezuela.  

Elizabeth Roble comes home from work sweaty and hot. She turns on the shower in her apartment. Nothing happens. Her water runs for only an hour three times a day.

Ms. Roble and her neighbors decide to hire a company to dig a well beside their apartment building. They have water at last! Other wealthy Venezuelans do the same. But they are breaking the law.  It can take two years to get a permit from the government to dig a well. That’s a long time to go without reliable water. Many say, “We cannot wait!”

But other Venezuelans are not wealthy enough to hire well-diggers. Venezuela’s socialist government has misused resources. Because of that, people suffer. Many make less than two dollars each month! Food and medicine run out. People fight in the streets. Power goes out frequently. And now faucets sputter too.

God has given government officials a big responsibility. They must do all in their power to make sure the people they govern can live well. Caracas once had a world-class water system. It pumped water from far way. The water traveled over towering mountains into the valley that cradles the city. But now that water system has bursting pipes. Repairs are neglected—and people are just getting thirstier.

Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered. ― Proverbs 21:13