“I am not complaining about having too little. I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have. I know what it is to be poor or to have plenty, and I have lived under all kinds of conditions. I know what it means to be full or to be hungry, to have too much or too little.
Christ gives me the strength to face anything.”
Philippians 4:11-13
Do you consider yourself rich or poor? Most people see themselves somewhere in between the two. When you are poor you don't have everything you need or at least would like to have. When you are rich you have more than you need, sometimes much more. Would you rather be rich or poor? Did I even have to ask that question? The poor would like to be rich, but I have never met a rich man who preferred poverty. Struggling for enough food to eat and feed your family is not an enviable place to be.
Jesus said it is easier for a poor man to go to heaven than for a man who is rich. A rich man has what he needs in life and sees no need to call out to God or anyone else for help. A man who is poor is constantly looking for any help that can be found. The poor call out to God out of necessity. If God loves you, and He does, why would He make you a rich man and take away your daily felt need for Him? That would be like a father on the day his child is born giving him everything he will need until he becomes a man. It is in the giving of the Daily Bread that love is communicated and values, ethics, and morals are imparted to the child.
I must confess that it is easy for me to forget that God can supply all of my needs. God can, of course give me food, shelter, clothing and health. But He can also give me wisdom, insight, direction in life and even knowledge itself. God is willing and able to tell me things I don't know and can't find out otherwise!
"Lord, as you take care of this child of Yours, please give me enough to keep me able to serve You, but never give me so much that I forget You and depend on the gifts instead of the Giver!"
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