A Life of Luxury

I’ve had a few conversations this week where the word “luxury” came up.

It was not in the traditional understanding: we were not discussing fancy cars, state-of-the-art technology, excessive jewelry, etc.

One person had mentioned that they grew up in comfortable surroundings, and had not realised that those were actually luxurious. Emotionally, there was a family that loved her, education, safety… physically, they did not suffer – there was food on the table, a roof overhead, annual vacations…

The definition of luxury is a state of great comfort or extravagant living.

Yet, we often consider this in a very privileged way; another conversation this week addressed our reality of luxurious living.

* About 1/3 of the world does not have access to safe drinking water, and half the world’s population experiences water scarcity at least half of the year.
* 1 in 10 people experience hunger; 1 in 6 experience food insecurity.
* Over 250 million children (mostly girls) do not have access to basic education.
* Nearly 10% of the world’s population does not have access to electricity.
* Half the world’s population lacks access to essential health care services.

… the list goes on, affecting people close to home as well as farther away. Even those with access to goods and services may not be able to afford them.

And so those of us who can, and do: we are living in luxury. We have become so accustomed to it that we don’t always see it.

And this is where our faith challenges us to open our eyes: to express gratitude for every privilege and luxury that we have: indoor plumbing, reliable transportation, church pot luck meals (a parable of abundance if there ever was one!)

…and faith. We lavish in the luxury of faith. We are offered extreme spiritual comfort; we are promised spiritual wholeness in extravagant ways.

And these luxuries are unending, and we have opportunity to share them. We know the benefits of faith, and the privilege to teach and invite others to the luxury of a faith community. We may take our spiritual formation for granted, for we have never questioned it: but I invite us to see it as a luxury: a gift, ever-giving from the unending source of love; that supports us, inspires us, and encourages us.

..and empowers us to ensure that all may receive this luxury.