"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."    1 Timothy 6:6-8

In 1998, during my year as a Fulbright high school teaching assistant, I was with my advisor in his car one day when we passed a wooden bus shelter in his village. We had a brief conversation that rings in my head often these days.

"A couple of months ago, I left my mountain bike parked there," he said, pointing at the bus shelter. "I meant to go back for it, but something always came up. One day, I drove past, and someone had stolen it -- cut right through the lock."

I don't remember exactly how I reacted. I probably offered polite sympathy of some kind. But that didn't seem to be the point of my mentor's statement.

"No, I'm not angry," he said. "I figure, if someone simply takes something that doesn't belong to him like that, then he must need it more than I do."

My advisor's philosophy struck me even then as courageous -- a refusal to have his spirit limited by material loss, though I'm sure it cost him dearly in monetary terms. For him the bike was a want -- something he could live without. For the thief it was a need, true or imagined, powerful enough to cause him to covet something that wasn't his.

Today, as I watch daily reports of growing economic trouble -- an ever-worsening scarcity that threatens even high-skill jobs -- I, probably like most people in the United States, struggle at times to put it into perspective; I fail to ask, what is the difference between a need and a want? I wish I could end this passage by proposing a profound answer to that question, but I know that I -- a sinner, as it were -- have a lot to learn about recognizing what I truly need and what I could live without.

Heavenly Father, teach us, as your Son Jesus Christ did, to recognize the true meaning of abundance, even in times of scarcity. Help us to be always thankful for what we have and to see what's most important. Amen.

Contributed by Jeff
Sunday January 11, 2009
Liturgical Year B Week 7
Sunday Gospel reading:
Baptism of Our Lord