How much?

DH and I were invited to a party tonight by a business associate of my DH. He was not the host but somehow had the liberty to invite others to the party. It was an Open House event with political tie in. We decided we should attend as we try to continue to grow our business.

So after having dinner with our sweet children, we fancied ourselves up and headed out. We went armed with the email invite and a GPS as we were heading into a mostly unfamiliar neighborhood. We drove over the mountain in heavy fog and came back to the valley. We wound our way through the area and came upon large home after large home. I do mean they were large but nothing like the home that was hosting the party! The amount of energy required just to light up the house and landscaping could probably pay our whole monthly budget for our family. Ostentatious just barely begins to describe this place. We quickly decided we had no business that was worth entering the home. We marveled together that one family would ever need such a home. Surely they had invited one thousand of their closest friends to this event.

We know many other people who have plentiful funds but none live in such a manner. I do not know the religous affiliation of the family and so I don't want to even hazard a guess. But surely there are better ways to spend your money? Could you not help fund a medical mission in a suffering country? How about the homeless here in our hometown? Just today, a homeless woman was begging at my children's school. There are many charities in our community that work tirelessly to make life better for children. I am sure they would appreciate a donation. I am proud to married to a man who stood up and said no tonight. These are not the kind of people I want to know. When you have a comfortable life, you need to think about others before you spend more on yourself. How much home do you really need to be comfortable? Do you need this to be better than everyone else? Could you possibly entertain this much? There are plenty of public places to host large gatherings.

Everything about this hit us wrong tonight. Maybe because we live so far on the other side of the extreme but I don't believe our reaction was jealousy at all. Rather a calling to live more humbly in Christ.