It is so easy to take things for granted in the United States. As I am preparing for a trip to a third-world country, I’m forcing myself to think of things I will have to do without.

Running water.
Bed.
Refrigerator.
Car.
TV.
Internet.
Laundry machine.
Shoes.

Let me stop there. This list will be too long if I were to go on…

But the crazy thing is that I know I can do without all those things. It is even possible that I desire to live in a third-world country more than I desire to live in the U.S. with all the niceties. It is because we are human beings. We are created so that we do not live by bread alone. We are not just physical beings. Just because we have all our physical needs met and are comfortable doesn’t mean we’d feel fulfilled. We need more!

We need love. We need forgiveness. We need acceptance. We need meaning. We do not have to be in the U.S. to have these things. But we have to have God to have these things…

“What is a man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.” Ps. 8:4-5

We have everything we need in God. We don’t need man-made things….

PH