How to know when poverty is better

If there is one commandment that America, collectively, is in need of, it is surely that of “thou shalt not covet.”

This is a sin so great that it would cause the Apostle Paul to proclaim that the love of money — not just money, but the love of money — is the root of all evil. It’s a love so evil that it will cause the rich man to lie, cheat and steal to increase his wealth, yet so shameless that it will cause the poor man to lie, cheat and steal to alleviate his poverty.

Covetousness is the sin of looking at what others have and making it “what I want.” When Moses gave the commandment, he said we weren’t to covet our neighbour’s house (which would lead to murder to obtain), his wife (adultery), his servants (theft of business property), his ox and ass (theft of personal property, like a car or truck), nor anything else he might possess (including health insurance). And then when Jesus took up the issue, he said to beware of it, for your life does not consist in the abundance of the things you possess.

I often reflect on this about Jesus, how he put aside his glory — the same glory he shared with God the Father and the Holy Spirit — when he walked on earth as the poorest of men. The creator of this universe, yet birthed in a stable and laid in a manger. Have you ever considered how it was more appropriate for him to be poor? That to have been rich would have confused his message?

The truth is that sometimes, poverty is better.

King Solomon, the wisest man apart from Jesus Christ to ever grace this earth and arguably the wealthiest with respect to his time, knew something about poverty. Though he may never have experienced poverty, in reading his writings one might wonder if he had not at least wished that he had. Having grown up in a king’s house, Solomon was recipient of every privilege and advantage then known to man. Yet in Proverbs 15 we read, “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.”

Can you see the contrast? While there are those who are vegetarians, most Americans still love their meat. Meat always has been associated with wealth, and it is the poorer nations that must be content with what grows from the ground. When the queen of Sheba visited Solomon, the Bible records she noted the meat that was set at his table. Yet for all the meat he could set at his table, I bet you he would have rather enjoyed the love of his family, even as a child. I can well imagine that for all his wisdom, he spent his entire life in search of that elusive thing called love. While one might say he had more love than any man could wish, having had 700 wives and 300 concubines, yet I would contend that having so many proves he could never find what he was searching for.

And then in Proverbs 17 we read, “Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.”

No doubt this, too, was a picture from Solomon’s childhood. Every convenience known to man at the time was at his disposal, yet somehow there was constant infighting amongst his siblings. Perhaps this was because they were all brothers of different mothers, but this was fashionable for kings. Surely there should be appreciation for all their father sacrificed and provided them, but in the end there was none.

It would be the wisest, and maybe even the richest man, who would say, “Poverty would have been better.” The truth is there are some things money just cannot buy.

As I look around, I would have to say that the average American, if he or she were honest, can find themselves in these two verses. We go greedily along every day from sun up to way past dark trying to fill our bellies with the finest food and playing with the greatest inventions ever devised by man. Yet, in the final analysis, when we come home and turn off the lights, we wonder why love and peace in our families is so elusive. It is because we have too much of the wrong things.

What you and I need to understand is that covetousness can never be satisfied. If we really want peace and love to reign within our households, it is only going to be after we teach everyone, rich and poor alike, to be content with what they have. The trouble is that there is no money in it. Every salesman knows that in order to make a dime, you’ve got to make a person dissatisfied with what they’ve got.

Ron Hamman is pastor of Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229 or ron.hamman@gci.net.