i was reading rich mullins' biography ("an arrow pointing to heaven") yesterday on the bus ride home. i finished the chapter on simplicity...how he and his friends took a vow of poverty...and i had to just sit back and think about it. it's stuff that i've heard before countless times, but to understand how he actually lived it in this day and age...had a definite impact on me. here's this guy who did very well in the christian contemporary music industry, yet he lived off of less than $24,000 a year and gave the rest away. he didn't amass a lot of material possessions...he lived free of those things and understood their insignificance.

i've always been provided for, and i've never had to really worry about whether i'd have enough to live by, but i wondered how things would be if i had either less money or more money. would i be able to live with the attitude of paul...being content no matter what my circumstance. even now, there are temptations and desires to have more, when i'm already so rich...i remember hearing a sermon about being rich...in biblical times, you were rich if you had more than 2 coats (something like that) and the pastor was talking about how much clothing we have and how we don't consider that we're rich with all that we have. and then you compare yourself to those in developing countries...i am so rich. but i don't realize that a lot of times. and then unconsciously i think that what's in the bank is mine to spend as i will. it's such a challenge to remember that i'm just a steward of all the resources that He has given me. how i spend "my" money, time, and gifts needs to reflect that.