Here's what spiritual poverty really looks like when you're trying to live it out day by day - it's acknowledging that while we're down here on Earth, doing our absolute best to love God and neighbor, ultimately He's the one reading our hearts like an open book. We can fool ourselves, we can fool our friends, we can even fool our confessor sometimes, but God sees straight through to those mixed motives we'd rather not examine too closely. He knows when our generosity has a touch of self-congratulation, when our prayers are partly performance, when our service to others is seasoned with a desire to be noticed and praised.
So many of us are walking around with hearts that are part genuine love and part calculated self-interest, and we're usually not even sure which is which. Is that extra five bucks in the collection basket real charity or just guilt management? That volunteering at the soup kitchen - are we actually serving Christ in the poor or are we building our own spiritual resume? God knows, even when we don't. And that's both humbling and oddly comforting, because it means we can stop trying to be our own spiritual accountants and just focus on doing the next right thing with whatever love we can muster. And as often as possible, have love and compassion for others, and tell no one, keep it between you, God, and them. Don't put it on social media and don't even share it with anyone. (Matthew 6:1-4)
But here's where it gets interesting - real charity, the kind that actually matters for eternity, isn't about the size of your donation or how many volunteer hours you've logged in. It's about the quality of love in your heart when you do these things. A widow's mite given with genuine love outweighs a millionaire's check written for tax purposes. The mother who changes another diaper at 3 AM with patience and tenderness is practicing charity that would make the angels weep. God's looking for the real thing - authentic love that costs you something, that transforms your heart, that flows from gratitude rather than obligation.
The beautiful thing about embracing our spiritual poverty is that it frees us from the exhausting business of trying to impress God. We can just show up as we are - flawed, confused, well-intentioned but often failing - and trust that He sees not just our limitations but our genuine desire to love Him. We do our best because we love Him, not because we think it's going to tip the scales in our favor. And when we mess up, which we will, we remember that our eternal destiny depends not on our perfect performance but on His endless mercy. That's real spiritual wealth - knowing you're completely loved despite being completely known.
©2025 James Dacey Jr.
