Poverty and the American Soul

Many believe if their bank account is doing poorly then they must have missed a cue from the Almighty. God is trying to get their attention and lead them back onto the path of righteousness by economic incentives. Does that sound right to you? Ever heard of Job?

A big part of this is cultural. Americans (although we try to deny it) have a deeply ingrained Puritanical work ethic...we have exported this to the world as the "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" method of prosperity. If you are earning, then you are doing things right (morally, spiritually, economically), but if you are poor then you are not just poor and economically bankrupt, you are morally and spiritually as well.

 

All of this is bogus thinking. My great grandparents believed it, my grandparents believed it, my parents believe it, and it is even preached as Gospel in many churches, but I am honestly trying to break the chain with myself. Not because I want to be poor, but because my economic standing has NOTHING to do with my spirit or morals.

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:10 KJV

The love of money is the root of evil...oh but there will be the naysayers! Who will jump into this conversation and say, “What about the Parable of the Talents?” I say to them, the servant who took his money and horded it (like in a bank account), and grew not morally, spiritually, nor economically did wrong. But the servants who grew their enterprise did well!

I have chosen to live with less things and put my efforts into working toward a creative, literary life. No I haven't got money in my pockets, overflowing, nor will I in this present moment. BUT! I have grown in my enterprise both spiritually and morally. I have increased my territory (to call on the prosperity folk hero Jabez). I have not sat idle like the wicked servant of the parable, but neither am I bank rolled. Have I missed the Lord’s calling? Have I missed the boat entirely? No. God is still for me, as I am for Him.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 KJV

What Is Good?

“Perhaps the best definition of success is whether you have made of your soul something that does credit to its Maker. If we return ourselves to God bruised but burnished, wiser from all our mistakes and deeper from our struggles, we are successes. In Psalm 147 God is called "The Healer of Shattered Hearts" so if we live with hearts unbroken, we have failed. Risk; hurt; grow: succeed.” –Rabbi David Wolpe

  

I used to have this list on my wall at the office. It was a reminder to me to go out and achieve more, to be more, to grow beyond where I am. It was called “11-Step Action Plan for Leading a Successful, Happy Life.” It was based on an essay by Max Lincoln Schuster called “Success Is Yours,” and you can Google it if you want to read the essay. One day I was reading the list again, for probably the one hundredth time, and I just snapped and tore it off of my wall. I just couldn't live up to the 11 steps. I couldn't get past the first one—become the world's supreme expert in something. Supreme expert! Really? Yeah that was the first step in “Leading a Successful and Happy Life.”

I realized in the moment that I tore it from the wall; that I was holding myself back from becoming the best I could be because every single day I would look at the list and in my mind not measure up. I was telling myself that I was not good enough…not in actual words but in failing to get past the first thing on my “to do list.” How lame is that? It was just an essay some guy wrote that people have been passing around for years…and I let it make me feel like a failure.

Those were not the words of God. They were not from on high, nor written on stone tablets by the Holy One of Israel. They were just words of a man and how he saw the world. That is all.

I had forgotten the point…the point of everything…the #42 of the universe (inside joke for my geeky friends)…I had forgotten that when I need to know what is required of me that I need to go to the Source…God Almighty!

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. –Micah 6:8 (NIV)

I am enough. I am good. I am in love with my God, and I will walk with him all my days.

Meet Bonnie

If you've read some of the older posts, you probably know a bit about me.  It wasn't until recently that I developed a vision for 'A Dynamic and Imperfect Christian'.  I wanted to create a blog that spoke about living the Christian life.  Being a Christian has never been easy, but this world has made it even more difficult as people are forgetting what being a Christian truly means.  It means following Christ.  It means loving people especially those the world avoids or shunned.  It's about sharing a message of love, forgiveness, and acceptance.

I like to say I'm a southern Chamorro or a land-locked islander.  My mother's family is Catholic; however, I grew up Baptist.  I have had the pleasure of exploring and determining my own beliefs. I've attended Shabbat morning service. I've walked out of a "healing" ceremony.  And I've attended African-American churches.  In college, I had professors that taught that the Bible was mythology and took a world religions class that tried to teach that all religions are equally valid.  I've even spent some time at seminary.  All of that to say, I chose faith in Christ.  Having chosen it, I now must walk it and the path is hard.

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*Bonnie J. Sterling calls herself a southern Chamorro and a landlocked islander. She has her first short story out in the MetaHuman Press Anthology Modern Gods titled "Ice Beauty". Her second short story, "Troubled Waters," just released in ProSe Press' To Love and Die anthology.

You can follow her on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BonnieJAuthor.
Website: www.bonificia.com
Twitter: @bonificia