How do you define the word “rich”? What makes someone “rich?
In our society, so often we can list of things we love, like our laptops, our clothes, our shoes, our cameras, our phones, etc. Having physical “things” equal being “rich” but through this attitude so often we miss out on the things that matter the most.
In my down time at our ministry this month, I have started reading Lord of the Rings (for the second time through). I love the story, the depth of the characters, and the wonderful descriptions that fill these books.
Within the story, there lies a poem (if you’ve never read it, it’s about one of the main characters). I have been drawn to the poem, and it has been constantly coming to mind the past couple of days, especially the first line: All that is gold does not glitter.
It has gotten me thinking, why do we assume in our society riches come in the form of the physical, the things we can touch?
God is starting to open my eyes in ways He hasn’t beforeI. More specifically, God is showing me that the young men here at Beacon of Hope are rich, even richer than many people I’ve known in my life. They have what they need, and are well provided for here, but do not have the excess we are used to in our culture. Yet they are rich in worship, in faith, in relationships with each other, in service, in kindness, in patience, in hard work, and in countless other areas of their lives.
I don’t mean to say that our whole American society is bad. But maybe we’ve become so absorbed in the tangible, and we have not been paying attention to the intangible.
Maybe it’s time to change that. Maybe it’s time to love deeply, serve selflessly, invest in people and relationships, and be present where we are. If we did all that, all that is gold would still not glitter, but the glory of our Father would shine through us on this earth.
“Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” James 2:5
“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in a steal.” Matthew 6:20
“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.” 1 Timothy 6:19
