It is easy to look at one’s treasure and feel poor. The neighbor or pass-by always has more; bigger lofts, houses, or a vacation home, a car, probably big, and of course the latest entertainment system. This, along with the sense that the difference is not “fair,” often becomes the motivating factor in working the angles in climbing the ladder of success. There are examples of those who appear to be better off rolling past us every day.
When the ladder is gone, or as you struggling on the lower paying parts of the ladder, it is easy for forget just where you are. You might believe that you are poor, less in things of value. It is easy to get into a mode of fighting everyone and everything. It is in those moments that you are more vulnerable to losing the gift that puts you on the same level as society’s richest. There are two key points.
First, struggling in anger and frustration puts everyone at risk, including your self. Striking out at those who are weak is the taking the easy marks, yet the act is merely the step to a greater sense of loss and true defeat. We are who we are by the choices we made.
Second, taking advantage of the weak and powerless makes a statement that the only way they can get ahead is by their individual effort. If the opposite was true, that they were children of God, chosen by Divinity itself, and we recognized this fact, then we would do everything in our power to help nurture their journey with God.
It always comes back to the basics. We try to make life complex, difficult, and confusing, however God’s facts are clear. The question rests with you and me; how will we express our values and priorities? What will we say of our beliefs? Do we believe that we are God’s children and intimate friends? Who is God?
“You insult your Maker when you exploit the powerless; when you’re kind to the poor, you honor God.” (Proverbs 14.31)
