On The Ground - Filthy Rich

On the Ground - Filthy Rich

I GUESS MY FAMILY was considered poor as I was growing up. Of course, the families in town that had even less than we did probably thought of us as rich.

I didn’t always have lunch money to eat at the downtown diner with my friends—but I had lunch every day; I never went hungry.

I didn’t live in a three-bedroom, two-bath brick home—but our small frame house, with one busy bathroom, was always clean and tidy; and it was always warm on winter days.

I didn’t get a car of my own when I turned sixteen—but I did get a set of car keys; Daddy and I shared a 1966 red Ford Mustang. I had to walk to school only a time or two when I missed the bus.

I didn’t have a closet full of clothes—but in addition to my few store-bought things, I had some awesome hand-me-downs sent to me by my older, much cooler, way-hip cousins. Diane von Furstenberg had nothing on my aunt Barbara—that woman could sew!

I didn’t have a college fund set aside with my name on it—but I did have a good work ethic and a scholarship; I managed until my senior year.

As a kid, it’s hard to tell how well off your family is. As an adult, it can be even harder. But regardless of how good a seat you have on the bus in the United States, you are filthy rich by India’s and other third world countries’ measure. I am now painfully and unforgettably aware of that fact.

God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied.God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh. (Luke 6:20-21)

To gain an honest perspective of poverty and what it really means to you, you’ll have to get off your bus of limited understanding and step out onto the ground. Only then will you begin to understand the challenges of the world’s poor as well as the difference you can make.