Rich

Growing up I thought of "rich" as having so much you didn't know what to do with it, as extravagant dwelling places, as having more land than you could walk through it in one day. But when I have been in the Caribbean islands I have seen that "middle class" in my U.S. eyes are "rich" in the Caribbean life. And that "poor" in U.S. eyes are "middle class" in their eyes. So that there the "poor" are those who live in homes made of what is found in the heaps of trash.

Such has given me an observed experience of the biblical definition of "rich" which is "having enough for just today ... just today". Jesus acknowledges this understanding of "rich" when in a prayer he prayed are these words: "give us this day our daily bread ". In other words, "LORD, make us rich by giving us just enough for today!"

I kept Jesus definition of rich in mind when I read the following:

As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19).