“While our family was living in Kenya in the 1980s, we drove a young
woman from Nairobi to visit her parents who lived near Lake Victoria. On the
way, we stopped in the city of Kisumu to leave our luggage at a hotel where we
would stay after taking her home. When our friend saw our hotel room that we
considered an average-size room with two beds, she said, “All this for only
five of you?” What we considered ordinary, she saw as luxurious. Riches are
relative, and some of us who live in prosperous nations have a tendency to
complain about a standard of living that others would gladly embrace” (D.C.Mc. – american writer).
Among the
followers of Christ in Ephesus, some had more money than others. To Timothy,
their pastor, Paul wrote, “Command those who are rich in this present age not
to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who
gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17). Paul urged them to “be rich
in good works, ready to give, willing to share” (v.18).
Our
natural tendency is to grasp what we have instead of freely giving to those in
need. The challenge of riches is living with thankful hearts to God and open
hands to others.
We make a
living by what we get;
we make a life by what we give. (RBC)
we make a life by what we give. (RBC)
