“For the eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout the whole earth to find someone whose heart is fully devoted to Him so that He can display his great power by helping them.” Who wouldn’t want to be one on whom God’s gaze rests, who receives help from God, and who helps display God’s glory? This verse appears in 2 Chronicles and is about someone who might have received God’s help, but who foolishly chose a different way.

What does it look like to be in, but not of, the world? From Abraham to Jesus, we see biblical figures wrestle with living according to God’s word in a dominant culture that does not follow His principles. Jesus, of course, lived it perfectly and prayed His followers would figure it out (see his High Priestly Prayer in John 17), but my personal favorite example is Daniel.

We easily recognize how absurd it is to create a god, an idol that we worship, out of ordinary materials like a piece of wood or metal. Are we blind to the fact that our culture promotes something just as absurd—could money, riches, and wealth be the common object that we have turned into an idol?

Once you have covered your basic financial needs such as food and shelter, being poor isn’t as bad for you as feeling poor. A person’s subjective socioeconomic status is far more critical to their health and well being than their objective socioeconomic status.