Then came groceries.
I left my petals on
the dash of the car with intent, in hopes that passers-by could see and feel
the goodness of fresh life while I shopped. After all, don't urbanites need
green things to remind them that concrete isn't the product of photosynthesis?
Forty minutes later, I returned to the car with arms full of brown bags just
to discover that my 6 happy petals had withered up and died from the heat of
the sun. And the Spirit of God said, "Look and learn."
The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business. James 1:9-11
I thanked God for the brown bag full of nutrients, for the job that brought the
paycheck that bought good things. And the next time I started to say "I
need", my tongue stopped short. Instead
of looking around to compare my grocery cart with someone else’s, I looked up
and was reminded of the Giver of all that I possess in closets, cupboards and soul. Having enough can make me forgetful.
Moses' statement, “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability
to produce wealth,” was for the Israelites as much as it was for me. Remember
your God when you have the clarity of mind to explain something complicated, when
you have the health to trump up three flights of stairs, when you have the cash
to fix the inconvenience of a flat tire.
Remember his provision and care when
you’re in the high position of need and repent when you’re in the low position
of greed.
What does James mean when he says that there is a blessing to be
had in humble circumstances? What good can come from a bank account glaring red, in beloved sons living contrary to
upbringings, when marriages trudge through a minefield or
hope is paralyzed from a dreaded diagnosis? These are life’s daggers that
cause us to wrestle with despair. This is where we find ourselves in that dark
pit asking questions of our Giver. And that’s when the pain of humility causes
us to call out our emptiness. This is where the blessedness comes in. This is
where the mighty arm of the Lord reaches down, deep into our darkness to carry
out the rescue. The posture of brokenness is what God esteems in us and it’s
what He uses to save us.
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. Happy am I when I recognize my impoverished soul and the
only God who can make it rich. Blessed are those who manage to trust that God
is good when it seems like He is gone. Happy are those who barely make it, but
somehow withstand life’s lambasting because loving Him hard gifts us a crown of life.
In the warmth of sun and prosperity, when I'm tempted to say, "I'm rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." Oh God, let me remember that riches, like beauty are only skin-deep and will never be capable of satisfying the eternal soul. In the despair of cold grey, let me twirl the stem of truth around my mind and try hard
to remember that, “In God’s economy, emptying comes before filling, confession
before forgiveness, and poverty before riches.”
This is the secret of happiness: Poverty
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1) Billy Graham, The Secret of Happiness, 1st ed. (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc 1955), 11
