Rich or Poor

 “Two things I ask of you, LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.”
Proverbs 30:7-9

Saying goodbye to friend leaving for her studies

“Give me neither poverty nor riches,…”  Living overseas the way we do, we are caught in this weird dichotomy of poverty and riches. Back home, our salary for our size of family would make us very far from wealthy, but that same salary on the islands makes us rich here.

So what are we? If rich means never looking at the price of things and being able to spend without thinking, then we’re not rich. But if being rich, means having more than we need than we are definitely rich. We always have enough. We can confidently say that God has always provided our daily bread and more. As the world and the islands suffer economically, we feel the divide between us, who have enough, and those that don’t have enough. We are privileged, and living on the islands we feel it.

Some can still afford weddings

“But give me only my daily bread…” As food prices soar here, we have to ask ourselves hard questions about cutting back and wondering what we should be buying now. But we haven’t known the weight of having absolutely no money to our names. We’re contemplating whether to switch to more dried beans instead of canned, and whether meals with imported products need to become ‘special-occasion’ meals instead of everyday meals. We don’t have to contemplate which shops are going to keep letting us take on credit or what wealthier family member we can beg to help us out again to put food on the table. For us cutting back is a choice, we aren’t scraping to survive.

“Or I may become poor and steal…”  We haven’t known desperation, but we realize lots of island families have been pushed to that point. With the rising desperation on the islands has come rising crime. Home break-ins are becoming more and more common. One of our teammates’ neighbors had everything of value, (including 70 kgs of harvested and dried cloves) taken this past week when they left a window open overnight.

The recent trials of shortages and inflation are challenging for us, but we know that we are privileged. The weight isn’t crushing. When our kids say they are hungry, we can give them food. Our privilege means we can help others. We get to be the ones that continue to give with food and money to those that ask us.

Tom with friends at wedding

“Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you…”  In our leadership position, we have to help create a budget for all the island workers for next year. We are answering a form of questions about inflation and what goods cost now, but the underlining question of, “How much money do you need?” is harder to answer. Is the goal to not have to worry about money? Is the goal to have excess so we can give and support the poor in our communities? Is the goal to join in the suffering of those around us and get rid of some of our privilege? These are big questions that thankfully we don’t have to answer by ourselves.

The person who penned that prayer in Proverbs was asking to be spared the desperation of poverty and overabundance of riches, both of which could cause him to forget God. He realized that losing perspective was the greatest risk, whether rich or poor. May we not forget whom we should look to and call on in all circumstances.  

We call on God to provide our daily bread (or daily rice). We have found Him to be a faithful provider. May more and more find Him so.

PRAYERS ANSWERED


We had a memorial for our island brother’s wife this past week.  It was a good time of fellowship as brothers and sisters came together to love and support Dimi.  Our teammate made it safely back to the States.  The unrest of last week seems to have settled down.  They even say that the rice has arrived, but it seems they are being much more cautious about how it is distributed (for better or for worse).  The populace remains calm.  We are thankful that we and our teammates continue to have encouraging, light-shining conversations and that we see encouraging developments in the hearts and minds of islanders.


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Some of our island colleagues have had loved ones pass away in their home countries this past week.  Some of the hardest decisions we have to make are at these times—whether to travel or to stay.  It is a difficult question that needs discernment and grace.  Pray that they would know what best to do and whether they go or stay, that they could find time to grieve and rest and find peace.  Tom starts teaching English again this week.  Pray that finding the balance between English teaching, family, relationships, and leadership responsibilities would continue to develop in the days ahead.  Continue to lift up Dimi and his family, as life returns to normal for others, they will still be grieving.  May God give them comfort.