The RICH

As many of you know, I recently spoke at the Spiritual retreat for a local international school. The kids at this school reminded me of the kids that I worked with back in the U.S. Most of these kids were either from families from the U.S., Canada, or the UK serving as missionaries or wealthy African families.

Upon just arriving at the school prior to leaving for the retreat site, I felt a spiritual heaviness around the school. I had been to that school many times over the past few years to play basketball but had never felt this way before. The feeling was a resistance to the Word of God and the Holy Spirit by many of the students. I began to walk around praying as we prepared for the retreat. I knew that many of these kids had resisted the gospel possibly many times over, but that God wanted to reach them, to challenge them, to be with them. The task ahead was not going to be as simple as I had originally thought.

Being in Uganda as a missionary, you begin to realize that there are pretty much two classes of people: the poor and the RICH. And you begin to notice the large gap between the two. You see houses that rent for $2500 a month and then right next to them are people renting 10' x 10' rooms for $50 a month. The two are side by side, but separated by a huge divide. The poor rely on faith so much and trust the Lord to be their provider. The RICH rely on their own power to continue to make large amounts of money to continue living in their luxurious lifestyles.

For me, I'm used to preaching to the poor. Everywhere I've preached in Uganda, the people soak it up (at least outwardly) because they need the Lord to be their provider so I wasn't really prepared to preach to these RICH kids, many whom don't care at all about faith or think that their faith is good enough. Many of the kids were doing drugs and were comfortable telling me that fact, even to the point of bragging. Some of the kids told me that they had accepted Christ and were just enjoying life (drinking, drugs).

At the end of the week, I know that the Lord used me to challenge these kids. Many of them rededicated their lives to the Lord. Many of them had a renewed, strengthened faith. Even the ones most resistant to the gospel had at least heard me out. But after the retreat I realized what Jesus meant when he said, "Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24) In Uganda, I am (unfortunately) considered rich. So I had to think to myself and make sure that my wealth is not getting in the way of my relationship with God. In the end, I'd rather have nothing (as difficult as that might be) and have Christ.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where month nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21