| How Rich is Rich? - article by Joel Hempel
According to an article I read that quoted the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), the following are the top 10%, top 5%, and top 1% of household annual incomes in the US: - Top 10% = $248.610
- Top 5% = $390,209
- Top 1% = $1,199,812
There’s no doubt about it. Marcia and I are richer than we ever thought we would be when we served as inner-city missionaries in Cincinnati. But coming to St Louis created opportunities for both of us that we could not have anticipated when we accepted God’s call. We never reached the 10% household income, but we are wealthier than much of the world’s population. How rich is rich? The rich man in the Gospel lesson from Mark 10 was too rich. He was so rich he could not conceive of giving it all up for Jesus – unlike the poor widow in Luke 21, who gave God all she had to live on. Could you give it all up for Jesus if he asked for it? Jesus will likely not ask any of us to put all of our wealth into God’s hands, but he may be asking us to give more than we are presently giving. One of our greatest sins of omission may be how much we keep for ourselves v. what we give to others in need. There are six key words in the Gospel lesson from Mark 10:17-22, Jesus looking at him, loved him. If only the man could have seen the love in Jesus’ eyes! God’s love never asks of us what is beyond our grace-empowered ability to give and his all-encompassing promise to bless. We don’t know the back story of what happened to the widow Jesus observed giving her last two pennies to God (Luke 21:1-4). I like to think Jesus walked up to her on her way home, chatted for a while, then thanked her and walked away. By the time the unsuspecting widow got home, her pantry was filled with all she would ever need. Or maybe she died penniless and entered eternity with a smile, knowing she was able to love God, having been loved by God throughout her life. The Gospel lesson in Mark has less to do with money and more to do with what has a death-hold on us. Put another way, what are you holding onto that is holding onto you? Jesus is looking at us with eyes of love. Letting go of whatever threatens our life and well-being will not bring poverty. It will bring great wealth. | 
