"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want". Philippians 4:12
We live in a society that measures progress based on its level of wealth or poverty.
Colombia is at the gates of its next presidential election, and the polls show us the state of health of our country: a polarized population, with millions of people who reach higher levels of poverty every day and others who want to maintain their status quo, for an utopian idea that associates possessions with success. And in the landscape... a planet that suffers more every day from our excessive consumerism, while the new generations can't find their place in this world, they want to change it, but they don't know where to start.
We live in an age where we measure our success in terms of "mammon" or money (Matthew 6:24). Which has led us to be in a state of constant dissatisfaction because we struggle every day to accumulate things that never legitimately satisfy us. I see every day how the rich live with everything, but they can't live in harmony with each other because they can't achieve the "American dream". And on the other hand, the look of hatred and resentment of the less favored, because they think that we have unjustly seized what is theirs.
I can't stop thinking about the look of hatred and resentment that I saw in that young woman that day... I think it represents the look of Colombia. And a country with a resentful heart will elect a ruler who reflects it.
In the end, we are all in this endless search, because the eyes are never satisfied (Prov 27:20), without realizing that both rich and poor, we are still together, wandering in the desert.
But Paul, the systematizer of Western Christianity, who was a businessman, a collaborator of God and a servant of Jesus Christ. Found the answer! He learned the secret! Jesus allowed him to go through situations of scarcity and abundance, so that he could teach us with his example, to walk in this era, joyful in all circumstances, knowing that our true wealth is in Christ.
"I can do all this through him who gives me strength... And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:13,19)
"You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." (Psal 16:11)
"I am the bread of life." (John 6:48)