Tuesday, March 12, 2024

So How Poor Are You?

 Bible Reading: Psalm 70


Key Verse: Verse 5 – “But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.”


Key Words: But I am poor and needy


David is going through a difficult time in his life being pursued by Absalom who is attempting to overthrow his kingdom; and in this hour of trial David says, “I am poor and needy.” I have found that many of us are like David. During times of trial and adversity, we feel poor and needy, but I ask you to reflect on the following. 


From the standpoint of material wealth, Americans have difficulty realizing how rich we are. Going through a little mental exercise suggested by Robert Heilbroner can help us to count our blessings, however. Imagine doing the following, and you will see how daily life is for as many as a billion people in the world. 

  1. Take out all the furniture in your home except for one table and a couple of chairs. Use blanket and pads for beds. 
  2. Take away all of your clothing except for your oldest dress or suit, shirt or blouse. Leave only one pair of shoes. 
  3. Empty the pantry and the refrigerator except for a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a few potatoes, some onions, and a dish of dried beans. 
  4. Dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, and remove all the electrical wiring in your house. 
  5. Take away the house itself and move the family into the tool shed. 
  6. Place your "house” in a shantytown. 
  7. Cancel all subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, and book clubs. This is no great loss because now none of you can read anyway. 
  8. Leave only one radio for the whole shantytown. 
  9. Move the nearest hospital or clinic ten miles away and put a midwife in charge instead of a doctor. 
  10. Throw away your bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans, and insurance policies. Leave the family a cash hoard of ten dollars. 
  11. Give the head of the family a few acres to cultivate on which he can raise a few hundred dollars of cash crops, of which one third will go to the landlord and one tenth to the money lenders. 
  12. Lop off twenty-five or more years in life expectancy. 

Maybe after reflecting on all of these, we need to change our words from “I am poor and needy” to “I am rich and blessed.” 


So I close by asking you, “How poor are you?”

 

                                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

Thank God for the blessings you have rather than bemoaning what you do not have.


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