Heart of the Wise

Paul the apostle wrote the following words in his letter to the church in Philippi:  “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” (ch4, v12) Can we truly say the same about ourselves? For many of us, it’s either we know how to be abased but not how to abound, or the other way round: we can abound but can hardly be abased. Some people handle good times well but turn into ruthless monsters or pathetically bitter souls when things go south or awry. These are fair-weather folks who can only survive or be joyful when things are all rosy and dandy. They don’t know how to be abased. Conversely, there are some people who can handle tough times well but lose their footing and balance when things begin to go north or very well. They don’t know how to abound. Many times, it’s the pøverty mentality that we have been conditioned to which makes us know how to abase but not kno...