Real Riches

Readings: Luke 12: 22-31
Philippians 4: 4-7
Matthew 6:33



I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth neither had the chance to enjoy abundant life nor having just enough.

Most of my clothes were handed down from older cousins or aunts. I didn’t get to have a new pair of shoes whenever old shoes bloomed flowers on its heel, or tips begun to smirk, or soles showed out lung inside. I had to fix it with rugby or mighty bond. I seldom have nice things brand new. I could not even afford the luxury of a teenager from my allowance, t’was only for my fare going to school.

In order to solve such shortage, at eight years old, I learned to harvest eggplants, bittergurd or garbanzos from our backyard garden during Saturdays, and supplied it to market vendors on Sundays. I dug turnips also or went along with my uncles in harvesting corn in their fields. I went through all these at a younger age just to have extra money at school.

Later on at high school, I tried selling rice or dried fish in our public market during week ends to sustain the growing needs and some wants. Doing these things had never made me feel upset or embarrassed. All I know I wanted to be self-sufficient despite being financially hard up.

But when I got married, things were different. Having two kids, without a stable job (I have been hopping from one job to the other), I begun to worry about every single thing we needed at home. Knowing also from childhood how hard it was not to have what you needed, I slowly became frustrated. Being self-sufficient at a young age no longer worked this time. I didn’t just have my self to support with. I have a family of my own now. I couldn’t stretch our budget towards the end of the week since my husband has a minimal income. It couldn’t cater to our food, bills, clothes, kids education and my son’s medicine (he has a VSD- a congenital heart disease).

From becoming anxious, I begun also to feel burden of not being able to provide for my kids.


HOWEVER, God taught me something from this experience. At the height of my anxious thoughts, God dealt with me accordingly. One of my reading from my daily devotional book, it says, “Those who don’t know their God are poorer than ox and donkey.” Mart De Haan further quoted Isaiah 1: 3 “Even the ox knows his master, and the donkey knows where to find food.”

Indeed, I asked myself “Am I not calling Mart De Haan’s God my God too? If so, why am I acting this way? Didn’t I know my God? Didn’t I experience His faithfulness that I have to continually worry about my needs? Didn’t I know my Bible? Haven’t I read His promise in Luke 12: 22-31?”

I remembered my Pastor who said during our counseling with him, he said “I am also a beggar like you, but the difference is I know where to find bread.” Exactly. Though he said this to mean that the solutions from all his problems come from God—reading His word—knowing and obeying it. But I can also apply my pastor’s advice to the issue of ownership. Nothing comes from our own. Everything we enjoyed each day was provided by Someone who owns everything we see or we think we owned. It is through His loving provision that we enjoy these things. ( read Genesis 1- 2)

Another truth I realized is that real riches are not in material wealth. True riches are knowing that you have a LOVING GOD who can provide all your needs, the Creator of heaven and earth and everything that is in it. And the poorest of all are those who don’t know whom to thank for the sunshine or whom to trust in the dark or difficult moments or when world riches gone by.
Worry has no place for someone who truly believe his Creator. My God’s big promise is in Matthew 6:33, it says "But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

______________

written last june 24, 2004