I associate
with people from all walks of life. Some of these are very well to do and
others are very poor. I have noticed that those who are relatively poor are often
much happier than those who possess a large fortune. Of course this is not to
say that poverty is virtue and wealth is sinful. Some of the people I meet who
are extremely poor suffer from extreme levels of stress, feelings of guilt,
desperation, frustration and anger as they just do not know how to feed their
families, pay for medical bills and afford the basic necessities in life. On the other hand I meet plenty who are very rich
but who are isolated from meaningful contact with other human beings as their arrogance
and materialist focus has alienated others.
This gives a lot of stress too, even more so when as a result of their behavior
they have made many enemies who are literally or figuratively speaking after
their blood. The way of peace for both rich and poor is to seek, maintain and
foster positive connection with God and others. The rich ought to be humble and
generous, serving God with all their possession while the poor need to be
forgiving and patient with those who are still stuck in arrogance and
materialism and struggle to share. Their trust should be in the Lord and not in
access to the wealth of the rich and powerful. Finally both rich and poor
should be generous, generous in accordance to what one has, be it money,
material goods, time, kindness or a listening ear….. Let us serve God and one another
with whatever God has entrusted to us and so build up one another in love.
