Tuesday, September 13, 2005

I am not poor. Not close. Not that I think it's really that important to anyone, but I state this more as a disclaimer. Not being poor means that I really don't have a right to comment about what it means to be poor. I don't really know. I can't really know. In fact, most of the people reading this blog can't possibly know what Poor means. Despite this fact, I read John Scalzi's beautiful 9/2/05 post and found that I could relate to more than half of the items on his "Being poor is..." list. His post has been bugging me ever since.

More thought provoking than his simple list are the 350 comments that followed. Many people added their own items to the list. In the end there was an incredible collection of perceptions regarding what makes a person poor -- I don't think I've read even half of them yet (I'm working on it). I am amazed about how little it takes to make an item list-worthy -- to make a person "feel" poor. It seems to me that as a culture, we really do feel entitled to certain luxuries. We somehow believe that our "inalienable rights" include a certain degree of material comfort. We are entitled to a high-paying job, a house not near a freeway, and enough cash to buy whatever our kids want whenever they want it. We shouldn't ever have to worry about how much everything costs, we shouldn't ever have to struggle for anything.

This disturbs me greatly. I would be an extremely immature, selfish woman if not for the struggles I have encountered through the years. I have counted pennies more days than not. I am proud to know what everything costs, and delighted when I stretch my dollar further than it seems possible. I'm not ashamed of my frugal lifestyle. I'm not embarrassed by my cheap car. If not for living 10 years in a too small house in a bad neighborhood with crack houses and gang bangers (next to the freeway), my just enough space house with a wonderful back yard in a great neighborhood would neither be possible nor appreciated. I have learned that receiving is often more difficult than giving, and asking for help is so hard -- but people really can be God's hands and feet in this world if we give them the opportunity.

Not that my struggles came without stress -- I was often stressed out, and continue to be. Like many people who live where we live, we owe way more than we own. We have very little money left over after we pay our ridiculous mortgage, and I know every day that we are about 2 checks away from losing everything - always. But I also know that our life is a choice. We choose to live in California instead of Iowa where we could afford way more for way less. Perhaps that truth lives in the back of our mind all the time -- if all else fails, there's always Iowa (no insult intended, Iowans). Perhaps the knowledge that our parents are there to help us up if we should fall, to take care of our children if there was a crisis, siblings who can (and have) pick up the slack for us when times get rough. And faith, of course. Faith that God will provide. If all else fails (and even if it doesn't), God will be faithful, even unto death.

Now before you jump to all sorts of conclusions regarding how shallow I am (and who knows? you're probably right), please hear me out. John's post was beautifully written, I was moved deeply by his words. For every item that I could relate to, there was another that reminded me that wow, it was never that bad for me. I am aware of the many priviledges I have enjoyed -- great parents, great husband, great education -- and even with every advantage, life is a struggle. It is hard. But I have always been aware of my choices, my options. In the end, I conclude that true poverty is living with the perception that you have no options, no choices, no hope. If we accept this to be true, then the reverse of this must also be true. Hope makes us rich, or at least keeps us from being poor.

So today, I'm starting my own list. I've been incredibly inspired by the strength and hope I have witnessed in people who have lost everything but their faith. How beautiful they appear to me. How beautiful they must seem to God. I will start the list today and hope that you will add to it. ++Lord, how I thank you for this wonderful life and this beautiful world. I praise you for your faithfulness. I thank you for your hand in my life. Thank you for the witness of great faith I have seen in the days following Katrina. Your people amaze me. Continue to bless them. Give back all that was lost 7 fold. And help us all to remember that riches cannot always be seen.

"Being Rich is..."

Being rich is having people who love you just the way you are.

Being rich is walking in a meadow, the sun on your face.

Being rich is knowing that you are a child of God.

Being rich is being able to ignore all the people so quick to label you as "poor".

Being rich is being proud of the food in your cupboard, because you earned that food with your hard work.

Being rich is being healthy enough to be able to work.

Being rich is knowing that despite their big houses and new clothes, you are way luckier than they are -- and way happier.

Being rich is a VA loan that requires no down payment to buy your first house.

Being rich is finding great neighbors in what others see as a "bad neighborhood".

Being rich is having a plumber husband who can trade odd jobs with the mechanic on the corner -- he can keep their toilets running while the they can keep your cheap car on the road.

Being rich is finding a perfectly good lamp in your neighbor's trash, a perfectly good dishwasher in the the dumpster, etc, etc, etc.

Being rich is living in a country where there is so much stuff, people throw out perfectly good stuff because they want the newer model.

Being rich is having a sibling or family member or friend to help out when needed.

Being rich is a room full of believers willing to pray for your aching tooth, and the love offering they put together to get you to the dentist.

Being rich is having a dentist nearby to go to.

Being rich is having an air conditioner or a heater, even if only in one room.

Being rich is having a school to go to, and books to read.

Being rich is knowing how to read in the first place.

Being rich is knowing that no matter how much you don't have, someone out there has less than you, and needs your help.

Being rich is knowing that the stuff you've accumulated over the years is really just meaningless junk.

Being rich is knowing that you will be okay whether you have a lot, or not. God loves you the same either way (no matter what anyone wants to tell you.)

Being rich is knowing that it all belongs to God anyway, and you're really just here for a moment.

Being rich is knowing that it's a wonderful life.

14 Comments:

Blogger Kim said...

Thanks surrey405. Great comment. I agree.

10:21 PM  
Blogger Kim said...

Gina recently posting a great study on this same topic from a biblical view. Here's the address if you want to read even more on this topic:

http://refreshmentrefuge.blogspot.com/2005/09/god-loves-cheerful-giver-2-corinthians.html

11:29 PM  
Blogger lizcreech said...

Good stuff all the way around! Yes, we do focus too much on what we don't have. Seems we are never happy enough with what we have.

5:42 AM  
Blogger Patty said...

I like your Being Rich list a lot better then John's Being Poor list. Here is a riddle that Paul Harvey was suppose to have given.

PAUL HARVEY RIDDLE:
When asked this riddle, 80% of kindergarten kids got the answer, compared to 17% of Stanford University seniors. What is greater than God, More evil than the devil, The poor have it, The rich need it, And if you eat it, you'll die?

SCROLL DOWN FOR ANSWER:





NOTHING

7:19 AM  
Blogger Vajra said...

Being rich is finding someone who writes about the good in life.


Thank you for visiting my blog. After my anger about the hurricane and its aftermath, I had to return to beauty. The rose is just one reminder.

Being rich is having eyes to see and ears to hear.

Have a beautiiful day.

8:10 AM  
Blogger Refreshment in Refuge said...

Kim, this list brought tears of joy to my eyes. This is all about counting blessings and I am deeply appreciative that you reminded me of just how to count blessings. (Thanks for the link to my blog, I am honored!)

Being rich is being blessed by God and being able to pour out those blessings on others. As we pour out, He keeps filling up.

I have been blessed by your post.

2:10 PM  
Blogger Sam Charles Norton said...

"A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty." Spotlight, Idaho

4:47 AM  
Blogger Bouna Antonio said...

According to the world, being rich means to have money, sex, power, fame, success, education. Being poor means to have no money, no sex, no power, no fame, failure, no education.

According to the flesh, being rich means to be rich in pride, self, hatred, lust, stinginess, anger, etc... Being poor means to be humble, love of self, purity, generosity, meekness, etc...

According to God, Being rich is being closed in not willing to share spiritual gifts, physical food, love. It is being self-centered, self absorbed. It is resisting the word of God and the Holy Spirit. It is being indifferent towards those in need.
Being poor is to be open to the word of God, to the Holy Spirit. It is to admit that we need God in our lives. It is to share everything with others, our spiritual gifts, our experience, our love.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

According to Angel Anthony, being rich is being completely in union with Him, complete surrender to Christ. It is being rich in Faith, Hope, and Love. What makes us rich is our intimate relationship with God. Being poor is being sparated from God, stuck on his/her way trying to control life & destiny.

7:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Kim, thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. Thought I'd pop over here and see what was going on.

Great post and great thoughts.

I'll add that being rich is being poor in spirit. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:3

:)

9:15 AM  
Blogger Kim said...

Thank you everyone for your comments. I will try to visit each of you. Chip Nelson, as always, you made me laugh. Thank you.

9:23 AM  
Blogger Kim said...

I am completely with you LAMom. Thanks for your comment.

4:17 PM  
Blogger Kim said...

Hi Beth! I can't imagine why you feel indebted to me! If anything, I'm indebted to you...

10:39 PM  
Blogger Arthur Brokop II said...

John's post made me cry and so did yours...compared to the rest of the people in this sorry world of ours, there is probably not a truly poor person in the United States...
but as I read John's list I saw myself, my sons, and my students all too clearly, and some people just don't get it. As far as the blessings go, the being rich goes, i've been let down by a lot of Christians lately, and it really hurts, but Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, and I know I just have to stop saying...poor me, woe is me...

2:41 PM  
Blogger Kim said...

Thank you for visiting, Maryellen. You are in my prayers. I am sorry you are hurting.

I pray for you (and all of us) that we would be surrounded by those believers who are content to simply be themselves, those who will not try to be an expert in our lives, nor let us defer our decision making to them. Put your people in our lives Lord -- people that would be a blessing to us and the people around them. People who bring honor to Your name.

9:30 AM  

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