Escape Your Poverty #2 - Wealth In The Material World [Material Wealth]

WHY TALK ABOUT MATERIAL WEALTH?

Why should us disciples of Christ better understand material wealth in all its forms? So we can alleviate the suffering of people we encounter. The elect of God are far better able and suited to satisfy the needs of the people we meet and see…

“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13*2

Sharing blessings in material form (giving wealth away WITHOUT expecting something in return) is a huge part of alleviating the suffering of others. We impact more people in bigger ways when we give more of our wealth away. But first, we must be able to add to our wealth today so that we have wealth to give away tomorrow… after all; it is nigh impossible to give away something you do not possess!

Absolute Poverty and Absolute Wealth are as far apart as the East is from the West.

Wealth, in its simplest form, is the collection of stuff you possess or can say that you own.

Poverty, in its simplest form, is the absence of wealth.

People are always moving between absolute poverty and absolute wealth in that we always receive pieces of wealth, exchange one form of wealth for another, or giving away or consuming some pieces of the wealth we own and or possess

ABSOLUTE POVERTY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ABSOLUTE WEALTH

Where do you fit in between the two extremes?

ABSOLUTE POVERTY
You possess nothing: no clothes on your back, no food, no drink, no shelter… you are an unprotected infant in the material world!

ABSOLUTE WEALTH
You own and possess everything Mother Earth and mankind have to offer… and everyone else is in absolute poverty until you decide to give your pieces of wealth to them… because they have nothing to exchange with you.

I am not sure any person will ever experience absolute poverty (though some may get very close to it), and I am very confident that no individual will ever achieve absolute wealth!!!

BUT…

We all have our collection of pieces of wealth, and the size of our collection determines where we sit on the line between the two absolutes.

Wealth (and its absence) measures the amount of worldly possession we can say belongs to each of us.

We trade pieces of wealth, not pieces of poverty. We exchange a piece of our wealth for a piece of another person’s (or company’s) wealth.

At other times, we give a portion of our wealth away without an exchange; we do not give away our poverty because poverty is the absence of wealth. We call it "giving" or "donating," being charitable and being generous.

We also consume some pieces of our collection of wealth, and no other person can possess it after we consume it… food is a good example

There are two major categories of wealth: Essential Wealth and Abundant Wealth

ESSENTIAL WEALTH! What are the essential things all people must have to survive?

Water - clean and consumable;

Food from the ground, the sea, and the air;

Shelter for protection from the elements;

Heat during cold times; Shade from the scorching sun;

Medical and dental care;

Clothes that are adequate for the weather

These essentials are universal. These are the pieces of wealth people needed 10,000 years ago to survive. We, like our ancestors, still need them today.

ABUNDANT WEALTH is everything that is not essential for survival (food, water, clothes, etc.). We now have more than we need to survive.

There are people who lack Essential Wealth in the United States of America. There are far more people that have the Essentials plus some Abundant Wealth.

Quick Review...

Absolute Poverty is the absence of any material wealth... no food, no shelter, no clothes on your back... NOTHING AT ALL

Absolute Wealth means that you own and possess everything in the world, and that everyone else is completely dependent on you.

Essential Wealth are the things our ancestors needed centuries ago and we still need today to survive: food, water, shelter, clothes, etc.

Abundant Wealth is the extra pieces of wealth that are considered essential in nature

Us disciples of Christ can always give our pieces of wealth to other people to alleviate their suffering. We are called to do this, and...

you never know when you may be tending to the needs of angels!!!