“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
The prevailing sentiment regarding wealth and the wealthy has at its core the belief that the more material goods a person possesses, the more me-centered is that individual.
However, watching a recent television program shattered that perspective for me. The man at the podium ‘eyes hidden by the bill of a baseball cap, blonde hair skimming his shoulder and casual jacket partially zipped, ‘read from one of the books he has authored. While not denying the hardships of life on the streets, for well over an hour he described his preferred lifestyle as a homeless person living on the streets of a major U.S. city for almost fifteen years. He did not berate society for placing him in such a position, rather he touted the advantages of his chosen way of living. Nearly every sentence alluded to the “freedom he experienced” he chose when, how, when and where to eat, sleep, bathe. He discussed the friendships he made with store and restaurant owners, police officers and fellow wanderers, but the friendship lasted only if these people met his emotional needs for understanding and empathy.
Today millions of people find themselves homeless due to the vagaries of our current economy, and we in the West should be red-faced with shame when we see young children around the world scavenging garbage heaps to find sufficient resources to feed themselves and their families.
But poverty, whether the grinding, relentless sort that dehumanizes, or the more temporary kind that gnaws at one’s self-esteem, does not eliminate me-ism. All of us must guard against the belief that when we possess less, we are somehow more holy while those who enjoy abundance are lower on the spiritual ladder.
“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
(1 Samuel 16:7)
Help me, Lord, to relate to you and others not on the basis of material possessions. May my vision increasingly be like yours.
by Marilyn Ehle
Used by Permission
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