What Does Money Mean To Me?

Money Means...

Nothing in and of itself. I have always viewed it simply as a means to an end just as you might say hard work or applied intellectual capacity are similar means. Just as a saw can cut through a piece of wood, money is a tool that allows you to accomplish a task.

To be poor means...

To be reduced to the simplest complexity in terms of daily living and not being able to meet those basic expenses. This is a relative term because there are many who view their situation as desperate without perspective for the person or family in a worse situation. Nevertheless, people need basic shelter and the amenities it provides, food and water, and the ability to sustain this lifestyle. If any of these elements are missing or are unable to be met in the short term, I would define these people as "the poor".

Of course there are many variations on this theme and I have been around many people who have lived either at or just above this subsistence lifestyle. Some that I have met have been very happy and felt blessed to even be in the financial place where they are. Being around these people, it is easy to feel sorry for them and "wish that there was something that could be done", but on the other hand they don't seem to be part of the those I would define as "the poor" because their suffering is muted by their overwhelming joy. Others, though, never seem to be satisfied and never seem to have experienced the same joy. Their agony is palpable and they are those that I normally think of when I consider "the poor".

To be rich means...

In financial matters, I always consider the short-term and long-term. To be rich is to have more - maybe significantly more - than what is needed to sustain one's family both in the short and long terms. Obviously this is also a relative scale because using the definition that I put together above, a person could make very little, live at a subsistence level, and save just a little more than enough to maintain that subsistence level and be considered rich by my definitions.

To have enough means...

To be able to provide for one's family in a reasonable fashion. As an example, my family and I would be considered part of the "middle class" economically. We have very little savings and after having just done a thorough investigation of our "net worth", we have come to the conclusion that we are not worth all that much - financially. That said, I would say that we "have enough". We will definitely need to continue to work to sustain over the long term, but in the short term, we have enough to sustain our livelihood.

When I share what I have, I feel...

Pretty good. I honestly don't get the "warm and fuzzies" that I have heard a lot of people report when they give of their money or time, or other efforts. I usually simply look at the situation, decide whether we can meet the need or not and act on that decision. If it comes out that we are able to meet those needs, it seems that it is just a logical thing for us to do so because we are probably right in the place where God has put us to be able to perform the work that needs to be done to show love for that other person.