Truth and the wealthy

A year ago I lead a retreat to a little place called Children's Country Home, which supports medically fragile kids and their families. The group was of all 6-8th grade students. We set discussed service, loving others, and also being afraid. This was to prep them to see kids there age who needed machines to breathe and live. We spent the day with the medically fragile children working on the yard, painting, and playing with them. At the end of the day we sat down and discussed the experience.

I asked all the students a classic youth ministry question, what was your high moment of the day and "Ah ha!" moment of the day (vague so they do not have to have a "low" but could also be something that God taught them). The students all were obviously touched with what had happened, and came away with some great thoughts. Many let us know how blessed they realize now they are and how they appreciate the things they have much more now after being with the medically fragile students. While nice on the surface it made me cringe a little inside after every student who said it.

The experience sat with me for a long time after and continued to churn my soul like an unsettled stomach. What was missing is their sense of blessing. The students associated blessing with material items, or physical ability. They had yet to see the real blessing that the medically fragile students had that they could not fathom. The simplest and most amazing blessings, joy and love.

Their life experiences of living in a wealthy area had given many of them a sense of entitlement and scued version of value. I saw this recently as I was asked by a student about my phone. They wanted to see how "cool" the stuff was that I have. When finally showed them (I resisted for a while but when they start reaching for your pockets it is better to just get it out) they commented on how simple and boring it was. My heart was broken. Not because I care how cool my phone is, but that a young child already places so much worth on material goods.

Mother Teresa weighed in when she said "It is among the wealthy that we can find the most terrible poverty of all - loneliness." It is through this loneliness that we try and find a home. We try and find an identity. A reason. This has lead to seeing value in material items beacuse they will help us fit in or achieve our identity. This is why people want to create an identity using the internet or have a million friends on facebook. We no longer understand what is really vaulable. We no longer remember our community and what it truly means to love others as we love our selves. I am not sure I ever learned how to do this as it took me decades just to learn how to love myself.

We live in the richest country in the world. Even when we say we don't have much it is a lie and deep down we know it. We are among the top 2% of entire planets population. I may not have as much as those living next to me, but I know I make more than 1 dollar a day like most in third world countries. We are called to more. More than simply pray for those whom we like. More than tithe when it is convenient. It might be hard to hear, but we know it is the truth.

"You may recall the old comic in which two pastors are talking, and one of them asks the other, "How's your church?" The other pastor boasts, "Quite well, I should say. When I got there, we had only thirty members and I have only been there a year. Now we are seeing over four hundred people on Sunday morning. And how's your church?" The first pastor says, "Well, I don't know. When I got there we were seeing about a hundred. I've been preaching the gospel, and I've preached that ole church down to ten." (Irresistible Revolution pg 317)

The truth is hard for us to hear. I have seen huge congregations that were there because it was easy. I have knew many people in college who did not like to hear the challenging messages during chapel. They want it to be simple. In the end "Following Jesus is simple, but not easy. Love until it hurts, and then love more."

The beautiful thing about loving is that it cures the poverty that afflicts the wealthy, since we can not love without community.