TWO THINGS ACTUALLY DEFINES YOU: YOUR PATIENCE WHEN YOU HAVE NOTHING AND YOUR HUMILITY WHEN YOU HAVE EVERYTHING

Having nothing in this context has to do with material things, some people have nothing (can’t even feed themselves). Others have everything (whatever is it they want). We all find ourselves somewhere on the continuum that stretches between nothing and everything.
The fact is that we are all defined by our individual response to the reality of either having nothing, very little or of having very much in the way of material possessions. Two things that defines us are:
PATIENCE
&
HUMILITY
Sometimes you need to as yourself a question,
WHO I'M I?
How are you defined and how do you define yourself?
It’s hard to know in the quiet times. It is only when things get rough that we really find out who we are and of what we are made.

Your Patience.

How patient can you be when you have nothing. When you have nothing, you will, obviously, have quite a few needs. How patiently can you wait for that which you need? Can you, or do you get agitated and make a fuss?

Humility

When you have everything, you need nothing, and by extension, no one. This is a test of how you treat people when you don’t have any need to be kind or helpful. Will you be nice, or will you be an obnoxious (something)?

But it seems to me that for all intents and purposes, we’re talking about ATTITUDE in both cases. In the case of poverty, the attitude is PATIENCE. In the case of wealth, the attitude is…well, it’s not really stated, is it? But I would suggest that it’s really the ATTITUDE that’s key in both situations.

So what attitude should someone have who has little to nothing in terms of worldly wealth? It’s suggested that the attitude should be PATIENCE. I’m inclined to agree. Without patience in the midst of poverty, the situation is only made worse. Patience is needed to withstand the constant frustration of having so little.

There will be plenty of opportunities to practice patience in the midst of poverty. In fact, the need for patience is almost constant. Patience can help ward off despair.

One of the most important needs of a person living with very little in the way of material possessions is the need for HOPE. Hope can sustain when all else fails. Hope doesn’t even need to be specific. Merely hope that somehow at some point things will improve can be enough. Things just might improve. They often do. But it usually requires time. Hope applied through PATIENCE will help make the journey endurable. And because the length of the journey is often unknown, patience is all the more necessary and all the more useful.

But what about the attitude when one has EVERYTHING? Or at least a LOT of the material goods nearly everyone recognizes as worth having. Well, there could be any number of appropriate attitudes.
Appreciation
Humility
Gratitude
Recognition
Perspective
Unfortunately, those who have a LOT of wealth often display attitudes that are quite opposite to these.
Pride
Superiority
Disdain
Criticism
Vanity
But the message of this blog post is that whether we have a LITTLE or whether we have a LOT we’re defined by how we think about it. How we respond to it. And how we feel about it.

Those who have few possessions need patience. Patience that at some point they may have more. This is not just a platitude it’s a necessary attitude. Without patience, desperation may set in. And with desperation can come short-sighted decisions. No one is saying that the journey will be easy or quick. But that BECAUSE the journey is rarely easy or quick PATIENCE is all the more important and all the more necessary. Patience can help sustain over the long haul.

But for those who’ve achieved wealth, or the fortunate few who were BORN with wealth, a DIFFERENT ATTITUDE is needed. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that all wealthy people are arrogant, self-centered snobs. They aren’t. Some wealthy people are the salt of the earth, and help make life better for many who are less fortunate than they. But many who have a LOT look down on those who have LITTLE. And their attitude truly defines them.

Wealthy people often forget many things.

1. They forget that the time they were born, the place they were born, and the family and culture into which they were born were not their PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT.
2. They forget that their means to wealth was the result of the contributions of others they never knew and never will know.
3. They forget that though their wealth may have come through hard work for a long time many who labor at hard work for a long time never achieve wealth.
4. They forget that many elements must be in place for their wealth to be acquired and for their wealth to be retained once it is.
5. They forget that material wealth is only one measure of a blessed life there are other measures.
6. They forget that no matter how immense their wealth may be some day they must leave it all behind for others.
   
   All of these facts should foster an attitude of humility and gratitude for what they have been blessed to have. Having an attitude of pride and arrogance reveals a lack of understanding of the nature of wealth. It’s no accident that a common theme in literature is the story of rags to riches and the story of riches to rags. The story of the acquisition of wealth from a state of poverty. And the story of one who had it all and then lost it all. Wealth is often transitory. All the more reason for an attitude of appreciation when one has it.

Of course, a person’s life is defined by more than their attitude about their wealth or lack of it. But a huge factor in assessing a person’s life is how they think about these two conditions.