I have been reading a book called 'The Blessings of the Poor', and have been getting so much out of it. It's caused me to re-think the way I live, how I view my possessions and their worth, and has opened my eyes to what really matters. I've asked myself the tough questions like 'Would I still be content if I had absolutely NOTHING but God?' And I know it's easy to say 'God is all I need' - but when you've been stripped of every material possession you own, would you still utter the same confession? I think that's a great question for a 'self-check-up'.
I know for my generation, we have been bombarded with materialism with such force. If you don't have the latest of the latest, what's wrong with you?? And how could you EVER live without your iPod? There is an endless list of the 'things' that are at our very fingertips. But how much different would we be without these things, with only God as our possession - and faith to believe He will provide for us; without the comfort of having an income automatically transferred every week? Wow... See, when we are ever faced with the threat of non-employment or not knowing where the next bill payment will come from - what a relief and comfort it is to know that God is our Provider. Perhaps it is in those times that we learn to trust in God and rely on Him.
A successful London businessman when visiting an underdeveloped country recalls his experience:
'As we left the village, one of the peasant farmers I had spent time with, came to me and gave me a huge hug. I said to him that I would pray the Lord would richly bless him as he was so poor. He then said that he would pray for me as I also was so poor. This puzzled me as I could by no means be considered poor. So I asked this humble farmer what he had meant. 'Oh,' he said, 'You are poor. You have God, and things that take your eyes off God. I have only God.' (Neeves, 2007:45)
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