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“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:10).
Mother Teresa was known for her devotion to God and for serving the poorest of the poor. People respected her because, as the saying goes, she put her money where her mouth was.
She also had a very direct way of speaking. She was honest, and often very to-the-point. For example, there was a time when she made a very cutting comment about the plight of the western world, and it might come as a bit of a shock.
“The spiritual poverty of the Western world is much greater than the physical poverty of our people in Calcutta. You in the West have millions of people who suffer such terrible loneliness and emptiness… These people are not hungry in the physical sense, but they are in another way. They know they need something more than money, yet they don’t know what it is. What they are missing really is a living relationship with God.”*
Wow. Let’s just take a moment to underline that idea so it doesn’t pass us by. She said that the spiritual poverty in the western world is greater than the physical poverty in Calcutta.
Imagine walking down the street and encountering a missionary from Calcutta. And then imagine that missionary telling you about God and Jesus as if they had something that you lacked. Also imagine them speaking to you in rags. What they had to say was urgent, as if everything in your life depended on it.
Do you want purpose, peace, joy and truth? Then just chase the latest experience. Actually, no; don’t do that. Well then, better just do whatever feels good, or try to get as rich as you can as fast as you can. Again, actually, don’t do that either.
What are you chasing?
Ironically, the man with nail marks in his hands already has everything that matters most. And he gives it freely to those who are his.
Notes:
-*Quoted in: Kyle Idleman, The End of Me: Where Real Life in the Upside-Down Ways of Jesus Begins (David C Cook: Colorado Springs, 2015), 123.
-The Up Devotional is published 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) and returns on September 28, 2026.
-Bible quotes, ESV.
