Worldly Comforts

Smart Husband and Baby Cherub

My husband grew up poor.  In his family, they actually, often, went hungry.  They ate weird things, (rhubarb that grew wild in a field, plain white bread and kool-aid for days on end) and absolutely nothing at all, often.  He used to promise himself that some day, he'd be rich enough to be able to buy himself a Zinger (junk food cake) at the convenience store, any old time he wanted to.

Sometimes, I find Zingers or Zinger-wrappers in the house.

The poverty he experienced is foreign to me.  D.H. still thinks about the poor a lot, and worries about the poor.  Well, we give fast offerings, tithing, and the occasional small donation, but we can't do a lot to help the vast, teeming mass of the poor in this world.

D.H. recoils when he sees anyone pulling the "victim" role that some poor people (and some of his own dear relatives) go out of their way to cultivate.  They act helpless and they fake or exaggerate problems to get their real problems solved.  They want something for nothing.  The annoying poor are very different from the humble poor.  They are much more difficult to love.

Today he said that after watching "The Civility Experiment" --here's the link to the video--  http://lds.org/pages/the-civility-experiment?lang=eng  he thinks the poor might be a blessing to our whole country, or our whole earth.

The poor who are praying, who are wise though poor, who are humble about their pains, might be protecting us all from the wrath of God.  Many of us can't handle prosperity.  We become self-important and godless and lose compassion.

I thought that was such an interesting thought.

D.H. said "worldly comforts" (a phrase he heard in a church talk recently) is a good phrase to describe  material things we crave.  Whether it's the goal of paying off the mortgage, or food for today, or a 5-year-supply of security-food and water in the basement; whether it's a jacket against the winter weather, or a jacket to impress our neighbors, these are comforts to us.

And there will never be enough worldly comfort.  There are always holes in the comforts, where worry and fear and danger seeps in.  Only "the peace that passeth all understanding", the spirit of God, can comfort to the core.  The worldly comforts are temporary and partial, so we ought not to put too much weight in their value, and see them for what they are.


What a smart husband.