It is so easy in this land of plenty to confuse need with want. That's a question more and more people are asking themselves. It only takes a job loss or income reduction to put that in perspective. Let's be honest here. How many people really have six months' of living expenses in an easily accesible account? Not that even that amount would be enough right now. But you understand where I'm going with this.
We think we "need" to go out to dinner several nights each week. Or we "need" a new pair of shoes for the kids or that expensive mocha latte with the girls. But what do we really need?
We need food for our bodies. That doesn't mean designer pizza or ice cream with fancy names. Food can be basic. Meat (unless you're vegetarian), vegetables, fruit. We need shelter. Preferably, somewhere with a comfortable temperature and dry inside. A small trailer qualifies just as much as a 5,000 square foot house. We may need transportation to jobs and schools. That doesn't mean a plush SUV or even a snazzy sedan. Transportation can mean a bus or subway. It can mean a rusted old truck. We don't need cable tv or even a computer or cell phone. We want them. But we don't need them.
It's amazing how much more time we have when we start realizing what we don't need. Dinners at home, without cable tv thrown in the mix, actually encourage us to talk with one another. Smaller spaces mean we actually have to share less space and, thus, interact with each other a little more. The list goes on and on.
I'm not against things. I have far more than I need and I'm grateful for that. But I'm trying during this season of Lent to really take a look at what I need and what I want. I think I need so much more than I have. Then I look around and I see that I have so much more than I need. So much more than others have. (And, yes, so much less than some.)
We've all probably heard that old saying about not taking it (our things and our money) with us when we die. It's true. We aren't called to collect things. We are called to serve those around us, following the example of Jesus. Who, by the way, never owned a home, a donkey or a closet full of clothes.
Things are wonderful to have but maybe it's past time all of us re-evaluated what we really need and what we want. We may be surprised at the answers we find.
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