Being Rich

We have just returned from vacation - taking a trip to Naples. Pamela and and I were invited out there by her sister - to spend a week with them. We had not done something like that before with them. It was a good week, relaxing, being some place different - a place a little less strict with the COVID guidelines but also just away from home and responsibilities that are there. 

In visiting, what you see is one perspective. Naples is a community of enjoyment. The houses are expensive, the beach is close and therefore escaping life is present as you sit on a beach to relax, escape, reflect, and have fun. In the summer of 1989 I spent it on the beach of Myrtle beach (south) with Campus Crusade. I was with 50 other college students there to work jobs during the week and doing outreach events on Saturday, with the hopes of sharing the gospel with people. It was a great summer of working and also focusing our lives on ministry as well as getting fed in numerous ways by the Word of God.  

Naturally, this beach experience was different. 

This morning, back at home, I woke up early, still on eastern time, and had more time than usual reading and reflecting about spiritual things as I read from the book Kingdom Man by Tony Evans, Appointment with God by JB Phillips, and then also looking at my mom's hand-written notes on Matthew 7. While there, I read a lot from the Bonhoeffer book, but also thought of what I saw. 

People in need have been heavy on my heart lately. As we go through the inconvenience over here in the states, many are suffering in other parts of the world. We are all told to take this virus seriously. The number of people infected everywhere with the virus is small in comparison to the population and yet people are getting sick and some dying. But, most of us here, like myself, are simply being inconvenienced. I know this because of my correspondence with pastors in Uganda and Kenya as well as lay people in Nigeria, Zambia, Ethiopia and Rwanda. In these communities, life prior to COVID was hard. And now life is harder. In Naples one can't help but notice the large houses on the beach and those near the beach with boats resting in canals, providing access to the ocean. These homes are expensive. As you see them, you can't help but wonder what it would be like to live there - to make your home there or maybe an extended vacation. 

In those moments it is hard to remember that I am already rich. In comparison to those properties I don't feel rich, but in comparison to those in need I am rich. I grew thankful for my present circumstance, where we lived - having but not overextending what we had. Yet, helping others was on my mind. Here i think about those wealthy people passing on wealth to me and it makes me realize that to the people I converse with in those African countries, they see me in the same way, rich, hoping I would share some of it. 

What's next? Get back to work and try to live in a way that honors Him.  

READ IT

While reading through an article today in one of my business journals associated with my job, I came across something of interest.

This is from ICMA Public Management Magazine, September 2007, page 22.

"There's too much evidence. With hundreds of English-languauge magazines and journals devoted to business and management issues, dozens of business newspapers, roughly 30,000 business books in print and thousands more being published every year, and the Web-based outlets for business knowledge continuing to expand (ranging from online versions of Fortune and the Wall Street Journal to specialized sites like hr.com and Gantthead.com), it is fair to say that there is simply too much information for any manager to consume."

Choices abound. Everywhere you turn, whether you are looking or not, there are multiple information points that are assaulting you.

Think about it.

With the internet now, there is a plethora of information. Very little is new. Most is recycled. This blog that you are reading is mostly made up of recycled information. It is my current perspective on what I am experiencing at this moment in time. And it is mostly retrospective.

As a parent and observer of life, I seek to train my children. They often hear from me that "when i was a kid, things were much simpler" and the funny thing is, I heard these same ramblings from my parents.

So, what's the point Chris?

The point is that in this world in which we live, I think we need to be careful about the information that enters into our being. I know I'm selective. We all are. We all make choices constantly throughout our day. For a very tiny group of you, you are reading this blog hoping that something that is said will result in you being entertained, educated, challenged, or even encouraged.

Maybe it will happen. Maybe it won't.

I think about two verses from a book I think we can all agree can always impact each of us.

Psalm 119:105,

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

I Timothy 4:7,

"Discpline yourself (or train yourself) for the purpose of godliness."

I can read those verses and be entertained, educated, challenged and encouraged.

So, why don't I spend my reading time reading His Word?