stretched between rich and poor

Two things I ask of you, O LORD;
do not refuse me before I die.
Keep falsehood and lies from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, 'Who is the LORD?'
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.

Proverbs 30:7-9

At times I find myself at opposing ends of the same economic spectrum. When I look around at some of my friends, neighbours, co-workers, and Christians that attend my church, I find myself comparing my economic status with what theirs appears to be, and wishing mine was higher. I half-listen to the constant talk revolving around higher wages at work, wondering if/when I should inquire about a raise.

I also see myself on the global scale and to my surprise, I'm pretty close to the top of the rich pile. My condo is comfortable in summer and winter. I have enough food to eat, a car to drive, credit to fall back on. My family has access to excellent health care, even benefits such as free dental care. I saw in the news today that the current drought situation in Somalia is called 'the worst humanitarian disaster' in the world.

A couple of books I've recently read have not helped me find black-and-white answers to which end of this continuum I should be striving towards. One is The Upside Down Kingdom by Donald Kraybill, which examines Jesus' teachings and the negative political implications they had which got him killed. The other is called Jesus wants to save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden. This book focuses on the Exodus as the central event in Jewish religion, showing Jesus' ministry as a new Exodus of sorts. One thing that stood out to me was the way that God heard the cry of the Israelite slaves at the hands of the Egyptians, yet once God freed them, they eventually became slave drivers themselves (in King Solomon's time), and were sent into exile as a result. It is so easy to forget where you've come from.

Which is why I will continue to hover somewhere in the grey area between rich and poor, never quite knowing where I fit in. Somehow the poor side seems safer, though.

An Ominous Warning

I received an ominous warning tonight: Bob is coming.

The tone with which it was delivered was serious. It implied that there was much to be afraid of. The warning continued: "Bob going to eat your feet."

"But not eat Kate's feet."

"Bob coming to get you."

I'm not quite sure what to make of my 2 year old's prediction. Especially since I know exactly who Bob is. What could he possibly want with me?