Mirage of Affluence

When I was doing my secondary school education , I was staying in a boarding dormitory at a school which is based in the Western Province of Zambia. The school was run by a Christian Missionary Society . It provided free education to the community in conjunction with the Government's Ministry of Education in Lusaka.
As a child brought up in one of the rural parts of the province, it was a new experience for me to come to use some of the amenities (such as running water and flushing toilets) which were only found in administrative towns and cities of the country. Another new experience was having rice porridge with skimmed milk and sugar for breakfast on an alternative basis with maize porridge.

The "rice" breakfast , as it was commonly referred to by the pupils, was the most popular amongst us. It was regarded as a "European" type of food which was only eaten by the affluent in society.

Due to economic changes in the country,
the school budget became more and more tight. One of the consequences of the reduced budget was the phasing out of the "European" type rice breakfast. This new development brought anguish to all the pupils.

I remember a discussion I had with some friends, where we vowed that once we complete our education and join the working class, we shall be having rice breakfast on a daily basis !

As I joined the working class, years after my secondary education , this vow was never realised !

In life what looks like a necessity today will not remain so forever. Human nature is always to yearn for a "better" living. Once that has been achieved, more and more will be demanded.

No amount of money that one has will ever satisfy his or her needs. This is because these expand as the buying power increases.

The "poor" always envy the "rich". They think that the affluent have no problems because of their money. This is an illusion because the more wealth one has, the more problems (and enemies) he has. Stories are abound regarding this fact .

What one needs in order to sustain life is a shelter , food and clothing. These should be available in moderation. There is no need , for example, to live in a 6 bedroomed house , having a stock of food in three refrigerators and twenty pairs of shoes per person for a family of 4 !

In the Holy Bible it says "Remove falsehood and lies far from me; do not give me poverty or riches, feed me with my allotted portion of bread, lest I become satisfied and act deceptively and say, "Who is the Lord?" Or lest I become poor and steal and demean the name of my God." (Proverbs 30:8-9).

Stay blessed and do not be tricked by the mirage of affluence !