Definition of "rich"

[ClubV12]

What IS "rich"? In terms of goods, stuff you own, income, material possessions in other words. I've been contemplating the question for several years and have discretely inquired of folks I consider "rich" if they consider themselves as such. Almost to a person, 99%, have indicated they are not wealthy.

My latest definition is:

Your rich if you have discretionary income left over at the end of the month after all the bills are paid. I think "bills" would also include a reasonable amount of "savings". Perhaps enough to cover all your bills for a period of time. 90 day? 6 months? In retirement, 20 years? More?

How do you know how much to give and when your cross the line into presumption. Thinking such as, "God will provide, so I can give it all." Or, you can't outgive God. It would seem that there has to be a reality check at some point, but that point is a fuzzy one at best.

[Gordon1]

Of course the Bible is the unerring standard, which testifies that the believers divided their goods among each other so that none had lack. One might not easily find like-minded believers close at hand - most would balk at such counsel.

[ClubV12]

I think that was a very special time when they were all of one accord. That time will come around again, but not now, not yet. To do so now might qualify as presumption.

But I haven't missed your point! As I look around at the community within my local church I see great need. Plenty folks living their lives of quiet desperation. Like the church janitor, who accepts no pay, but ran out of money for gas for his car last month. So he walked to church to do the cleaning, about a 2 hour walk...

The problem is, meeting an immediate and dire need is one thing. Meeting a long term need (he will be out of gas next month as well) is a much tougher problem. The church can and should reimburse him for gas, at the least, which may solve one problem. Only 101 left to go... :)

[aldona]

Quote:

As I look around at the community within my local church I see great need. Plenty folks living their lives of quiet desperation. Like the church janitor, who accepts no pay, but ran out of money for gas for his car last month. So he walked to church to do the cleaning, about a 2 hour walk...

Did he tell any of the church members about his need? People often keep their financial or material needs to themselves, because it can be humiliating to tell others - especially in our modern society which places such a high value on wealth and self-sufficiency.

But I am certain that if he was a member of our church and word got out about his predicament, folks would have immediately "passed the hat around" and reimbursed him, and probably arranged for someone to give him a ride to church whenever he needed it.

If we want a New Testament kind of Christian community where all the believers share their wealth so that nobody lacks what they need, then we also need to become more open to sharing our needs with our brothers and sisters and not let our pride or embarrassment keep everything so secret.

AJ

[Dottie]

To the initial question--most of us perceive anyone to be rich who has a greater income than we do.

Whether one has money left over at the end of all obligations has more to do with how they decide to use their money than how much income they have.

IMHO

[Bravus]

In a similar way, I think no-one ever really considers him or herself to be 'rich enough': there is no end to the pursuit of material goods.

Any useful definition needs to be objective. It could be in terms of net wealth or income - both are part of wealth.

Maybe one cutoff could be an income twice the annual average. By that criterion I am rich.

As Dottie said, having a surplus depends on decisions, and we really don't at the moment, despite a high income, due to bad decisions leading to high debt.

But I tend not to choose menu items at the restaurant by price... and that's another possible definition of wealth.

[ClubV12]

You know it just occured to me, this a like another question I hear from time of about cars. How much horse power is enough?

Well it depends on whether your hauling 90,000 pounds with an 18 wheeler, up hill, or just going to the office. Whether your inviting the whole church over to your place for a Sabbath afternoon meal or it's just you and your dog in a one bedroom place.

Whatever it is, once you've got the basics covered (school expense, bill's, retirement and savings account, etc), if you have any funds left over, "your rich"!

...near as I can figure anyway.

aldona, The janitor issue came up while he and I were talking about his car and if he was going to sell it or not (I heard a rumor and asked him about it). Were working on a couple of long term solutions to address the problem. One of which may be a better gas mileage car for him.

When I lived in a nice neighborhood in Hawaii I never thought I was rich. When I moved to Oregon, it became pretty obvious, I was at the very least, uh, "well to do"! It's the old, man without a shoe meets man without a leg thing. A new perspective.