Afflicted by Affluence: Is there a cure?

Privileged, gifted, blessed...that's what they call kids like me, but is what I have really a blessing? What if it leads to a false sense of entitlement; does that make my "privilege" worth it? If my "blessings" incite arrogance and selfishness; are they really blessings?

I am without want. Literally, everything I have ever wanted, splat, has been laid down right in front of me. My needs have always been met, and virtually every one of my wants, too. I didn't have to pay for my car, nor the gas that goes in it. My parents sent me to a private Christian school for much of my primary and secondary education. Now I'm at a private liberal arts college, studying at no cost to myself. Sure, I've had a few jobs, but guess where all that moolah goes? Straight to my pocket to supply the "Things Ellie has worked hard to buy" fund. The funny thing is that compared to the vast majority of the world, I didn't really work that hard. Just look at my friend Juan from the ESL program; he works two jobs, often terrible hours, and what does he do with the majority of his money? He sends it right on over to El Salvador to support his wife, kids, and mother. What do I do with my 40 hr. a week paycheck? I spend it on a new North Face jacket even though I already own a perfectly good one.

The worst part about this affluence is that I did absolutely nothing to deserve it, and yet I think that I'm entitled to nice things. It wasn't by my own effort that I was born into this family, nor were the nice house, car, or clothes purchased with my own hard-earned money. I could just have easily been born in E. Africa, wondering not if I would be able to get a Starbuck's Skinny Vanilla Latte this morning, but whether or not I was going to die due to lack of nourishment.

I'm not only richly "blessed" financially. I've had minimal struggles in this life. God's blessed me with good health. I've never had to deal with the death of anyone close to me. I grew up in a home where my parents always told us they loved us, that they were proud of us. I could have been born into an abusive family, one that never told me they loved me. I could have been born in a third-world country or in the inner-city. I could have been an orphan.

Sometimes I'm disgusted at myself. The petty things I complain about; the pity-parties I throw for myself; how ridiculously angry I get when I have to spend my own money on something I think my parents should buy me; the jealousy I have towards people with more J. Crew clothes than me or a cooler pair of Toms.

It's true: I'm afflicted by affluence. It seeps into my heart and drives out Jesus. When I read Matthew 19:21 "Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." I rationalize it, saying that surely Jesus didn't literally mean for me to sell all I have and give it to the poor. Surely Jesus was only talking about a certain few of super-Christians, but me? No, definitely not me.

But then I look at my life, the arrogance, selfishness, and entitlement this affluence has brought to my heart, and I begin to wonder, what if Jesus really did mean me? I mean, I have so much, and there are so many that have so little...maybe God blessed me with so much, so that I could give it away to so many. Maybe He gave me so much, so that I could join a counter-culture of American affluence, to exemplify to a falsely-entitled generation what a life captivated by Jesus looks like, to take serious God's command to take care of the poor.

I think Jesus offers the perfect cure to my sick heart. I don't think that Jesus told the rich man to sell all he had as some sort of super-Christian action that would get the rich man to Heaven. I think Jesus was merely offering the rich man a cure for his heart-sickness; after all, giving up everything to the poor would surely eliminate affluence. What's more, a heart that can freely give things up to the poor is a heart that reflects a Jesus-transformation.

It makes sense...if affluence makes you greedy, arrogant, selfish, and falsely entitled, what better thing to do than get rid of it? and what better way to get rid of it that to give it to people who actually need it, the one's who will die without it?

Jesus really did mean us; I'm thoroughly convinced. Will I continue to live in sickness, or will I have the courage to take what Jesus said seriously, knowing full well that my "privilege" and "blessings" can really be quite the opposite?