How Much we Really Have

Hard times have hit. Maybe we are in another recession. In my home state, Texas, an old school problem, drought, has led to a modern day catastrophe. Many people today are facing very hard times indeed. But, as I prepare to go into ministry and as I learn more about the world and its history, I can't help but question a few of our assumptions. Part of what has started this questioning was my grandfather telling me about the "good old days" (you know the days when we drove with leaded gas, air travel was in its infancy, and people used the post office to communicate with others). Especially after reading this article from USA today, I knew that this installment of "Toward a Theology of Orphan Ministry" would have to be about the true picture of the abundant wealth we all live in today.

We know that Christ has called us to live amongst and minister to the poor. But I think that in hard times we have a mental impediment that keeps us away from true service. Here is the obstacle: We don't realize that we are incredibly wealthy. Perhaps our bank account is small- yet we live with incredible access to credit, loans, and networks of family and friends that few people in history have known. Perhaps we have lost a job recently- yet somehow, many Americans know that they will be able to find work of some kind at some point- low-paying work perhaps, but work nonetheless. Perhaps we are really at rock bottom- yet if we have family (a spouse, a mother or a father) then we have more than the orphans residing at The Harbor have.
The USA Today article has reminded me that I have very little to complain about. I own a car, I have access to running water, I live in a secure location, and from time to time I can go out for ice cream! I have an abundance. Most of us have easy access to cheap goods and a general belief that our future will be at least as good as our today. May God teach us humility, grant us gratefullness and show us how to share our wealth with groups like The Harbor or to relieve those caught up in disaster, such as the one in East Africa.