God wants you to be poor!

     A very prominent message in modern American Christianity is that God wants you to be Healthy, Wealthy and Happy.  The reason this message is popular is obvious.  Who doesn't want to be healthy, wealthy and happy?  Those three things sure are at the top of my list.
     Where we have to be careful is that we don't approach the truth of God's word looking to pull out the things that we want to hear and ignoring the things that we would rather not.  Just last night my family was reading James chapter 1 and I came across this verse "Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them.  And believers who are rich should boast that God has humbled them."
     Wait, I thought that if I followed the 10 commandments, the Golden Rule, attended church, gave in the offering, and read the Bible, I would have a perfect life!  I mean isn't that the reason why we follow all the rules and try so hard to be good is so that God will make us happy?  Isn't that why we give to the church so that God will give us more?
     This phenomenon of only hearing the parts of the Bible that appeal to us is nothing new.  Thinking that God wanted us to be healthy, wealthy and happy was very popular in Jesus' day.  That is why Jesus had to confront that thinking with shocking statements such as "I tell you the truth, it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven."  The people thought that someone was rich because God was blessing them.
     Now before you get depressed and go back to Facebook or playing Angry Birds listen up!  I don't necessarily think that God wants believers to be Sick, Poor, and Depressed, but I do think that our own pursuit of health, wealth and happiness can be huge road blocks to what God really does want.
     As I read the Bible, what I constantly see is that God wants us to be Humble, Loving, Compassionate, and ultimately more like him.  The reason why God said it was difficult for rich people to enter the kingdom of heaven is that the more stuff we have the harder it is for us to be humble, loving and compassionate.
     I think what God desires for us is succinctly summed up in Jesus saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit."  The poor in spirit realize life isn't about getting more stuff, but about how God can use my life to touch other people's lives.
     I am reminded of this so powerfully when ever I leave the country.  I realize that all of our wealth can be a huge distraction to what God desires to do in our lives.  God help us to be poor in spirit!