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Dearly Beloved,


Are you rich or poor?
 

I was recently part of a group that was discussing money. I said I was rich. Based on the reaction, I think I surprised the others with my comment, likely because most people don’t admit they are rich. What about you? Are you rich or poor?

Whether we are perceived as rich or poor may have a lot to do with the standard we use and the people we compare ourselves to. I imagine most wealthy Canadians would not consider me in their class. However, when I consider the vast majority of the over 8 billion people in the world, I am aware I have much more than most. 

From March 27 – April 5, I was part of the Guatemala mission team. On this trip, I felt rich. Most Guatemalans have low income, a rather poor diet, housing much inferior to ours, and no health or retirement plan. Well, the retirement plan is to work as long as they are able and then have family care for them. 

When I reflect on Guatemala, I think not just me, but most of you reading this, are rich. I also think riches are not just money but the hope we have to provide for ourselves and even prosper. When I was in college, I volunteered at a drop-in centre in Winnipeg’s very poor inner city. As I hung out with youth, it dawned on me that while I had no money at the time, much like them, I had education and skills, and I had learned to work. I had hope for a prosperous future. Even with no income, I knew I was rich compared to them.

As I spent time in Guatemala, particularly at the James Project, where the staff and many of the children believe in Jesus, I reflected on true wealth and poverty. I saw their faith and the joy of the Lord. I thought of some verses in the letters to the churches in the book of Revelation. In 2:9, to the faithful church of Smyrna, it says, “I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!” But in 3:17-18 to the lukewarm church of Laodicea, it says, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”

It is not wrong to prosper; in fact, God is the giver of many material things, yet there is a great danger that affluence, if we do not guard our hearts, may lead to complacency, resulting in spiritual poverty. Our materially poor Guatemalan sisters and brothers may be rich, while those with much may really be poor.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 has some good words for us to keep us from becoming spiritually poor. “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

I see in these verses that God wants us to enjoy life, and some of this enjoyment may come from the pleasures of material things. Yet our hope must not be in our assets. True riches come through being generous with God and others. The Guatemala team was traveling on Easter Sunday, so I watched the livestream after I got home. It was amazing to reflect on what God has done through the resurrection and what He continues to do in Guatemala, the Comox Valley, and the whole world. May you embrace and prioritize the Easter message and take hold of the life that is truly life. This is true riches, whether we have much or little.

So, are you rich or poor? More importantly, are you spiritually rich or poor? I wish you enough money to enjoy some of the goodness of this world, yet even more, whether you are rich or poor, I pray you will enjoy spiritual wealth, which is so much greater and truly satisfying.

Pastor Lorne