Today the Scriptures force us once again to look at this thorny question of our possessions. We've probably all met people who are poor but who are just as greedy as people who are rich. Being poor or rich is not what it is all about. When our poverty leads to God, then we are blessed. When our riches lead us away from God, then we are cursed.

In the church we have a very long tradition of men and women leaving their home and possessions and joining a community in which they take a vow of poverty. Through that vow, they give up their right to any personal possessions. The purpose of this vow is to give men and women the freedom to serve God and others with a generous heart.

In some way, we all need to have a vow of poverty. Naturally I don't mean that we should empty out our