Rich people.
The worst creatures in the universe.
They’re greedy.
They hate animals, children, and happiness.
They build machines to destroy the environment.
They serve red wine with fish.
Who are these vile, rich people?
Not me!
I’m not greedy!
I just want enough to meet my needs.
Nothing extra.
Just my basic needs:
A roof over my head…
…that doesn’t leak…
…insulated walls and some kind of floor…
…indoor plumbing, electricity, wifi…
…and a guest bedroom in case company comes over.
A bit of food in the refrigerator…
…maybe a small pantry full of canned goods…
…and decent Chinese take-out when groceries get low.
A cheap, dependable car…
…with working air conditioning.
Car insurance.
Health insurance.
…with prescription benefits.
Dental and eye care would be nice but I’m not greedy.
Access to decent healthcare.
…clean facilities, competent doctors…
…free of charge.
Money for an education.
Doesn’t have to be a “rich-people-Ivy-league-school”…
…but it needs to be better than community college!
And I need a decent job.
Just enough to pay my bills.
…and put a few bucks aside for emergencies.
…and put a few bucks in the Christmas fund.
…and a few bucks in the vacation fund.
…and a few bucks for an espresso each morning.
I earned it, after all!
Rich people waste their money on fancy cars, big houses, and artwork.
I don’t need all that!
I’m not greedy!
I just need to live above the poverty line.
A charitable guy like me deserves at least that much.
2 Responses
Rich is knowing how much God loves me. That sustains me.
John,
Thought-provoking post.
After all, what is “rich”?
A good chunk of the world sees even the most destitute of Americans as wealthy, yet we cry and moan (and buy on credit that drowns us) when we can’t buy the newest tech gadget.
Makes me wonder just what the essentials of survival really are, and how far beyond that we all are. And how much we think we “deserve” in life.
I neither envy nor despise the rich. Christ Himself did not, even having great compassion upon a rich young ruler. The rich need Christ as much as the poor, and they have a harder time seeing their true poverty and the need for salvation.
The New Testament even teaches that God wants us to be rich. But not in the way prosperity preachers distort it. We are to be rich in faith, in mercy, in humility, and the fruit of the Spirit, and to seek eternal riches in glory. These are the riches that never fade, and ones I *am* envious to have in my life.
1 Timothy 6:6-8 (ESV) instructs us. “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
Contentment is the key to financial happiness. If we are content with what we have, materially, then we will see how rich we truly are.
Dave
Proverbs 30:8-9 (ESV)
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.