DO YOU LIVE IN POVERTY?

I read on a friend's blog that this is national "Blog Action Day" and this year's theme is "Poverty". While reading his blog and his thoughts about poverty, my mind started whirling. The definition of poverty includes-"scarcity,dearth". Dearth's definition is "scarcity that makes dear".

This sets the wheels into motion. We all immediately go to the lack of life's essentials when we think of poverty. Certainly a hungry stomach, a cold bed, living in filth, and on and on are grave and world wide concerns. I may be living in a "Bubble", but I think our country does a reasonable job of providing food to the hungry. There is a constant motion made in an attempt to feed those that cannot feed themselves. Beyond our borders and in many Third World Countries, hunger is often a fact of life. At the same time, we participate in countless organizations that work to alleviate this scourge of our world. Many times our countries and our non-profits are met with opposition by those in power in the countries we are endeavoring to aide. It is a complex problem that has been around as long as there has been written word.

When pondering poverty-I began to think about emotional and spiritual poverty that many live with. Without the emotional support we all so desperately need, we enter a state of emotional poverty. A state without hope that no aide agency can fill. The fact is that we all crave the love and support of our family and friends. When there is an absence of this, we live either in utter despair and loneliness or with a hardened shell of protection. We can be in a room full of people and a member of a huge family, but still live in emotional poverty. Our outer persona may reflect independence and detachment, but our inner heart may lie in waste. While personal poverty is physically debilitating, emotional poverty leads to a fate worse than starvation.

The most extreme poverty and the most hopeless is spiritual poverty. We are all created with a God shaped vacuum in our souls. No amount of help, family, friends or anything else of this world can fill that hole. We may spend our lives vainly searching for that filler, but all for naught. There is no greater poverty than a life without hope-the hope that only comes from God. We live with the comfort that even when life appears hopeless, God is still there. In abject physical poverty, we can live in spiritual contentment with the God of our moments fulfilling our most important need-Spiritual Wealth.

Poverty-a scarcity that makes dear. What is dear to you?