John Simons

The Beauty of Poverty

Years ago, I had a friend who was house sitting for a wealthy family while he went to seminary. He made a comment that has stuck with me for a long time. He said that he was learning not to want so much stuff, because you eventually reach a point where your stuff owns you, instead of the other way around. He used his situation as an example. The family needed someone to stay in the nice house to keep an eye on it and protect it. If they did not have as much, then they would have no need to hire someone to stay at their house while they were away.

One thing I have noticed when I travel overseas, is that those who seem to have very little, always seem to have the biggest smiles. In this picture is Joel. I met him on my recent trip to Paraguay. The first time I met him, we were walking along the sidewalk, he was singing along to the radio inside the one room house behind him. As he finished the song, singing at the top of his lungs, he saw us on the sidewalk outside his gate, and cracked up in laughter that he had been “caught” singing. › Continue reading

Tags: Joel, Materialism, Paraguay, Stuff