Provident Living

I just wanted to put out there some thoughts I had yesterday at church. We had one of those lessons that really spoke to me. We talked about provident living. Of course we have all heard about this before (if you are LDS). Living within our means, food storage, self reliance, education. That kind of stuff. The instructor was talking about living without debt and not buying things we don't need. That got me thinking about what our "needs" really are. I thought about a place to live, food to eat, health care and basic clothing. What else is there really? Everything else I thought of really wasn't a need, but a comfort, a want, a splurge. Then I thought of many people that are without. I thought of the people in poor countries, that have never seen cars, or Prada bags, and for some, a school, a proper building. Now, for just a moment, put yourself in one of these countries. Let's say you have the same financial situation you have now. Would you be so eager to buy an expensive car, or spend money on name brands that mean nothing to these people? Would fancy furniture be the top of your list? It made me think of why we buy what we buy. And the ugly truth is...Most of the things we buy (aside from essentials) are so that other people can see that we have them. I don't mean this as a judgement in anyway. (I would love a Louis Vuitton as much as the next girl!) I merely found myself re-thinking what is important and what is not. Food storage is important. Savings are important. Family is important. Education is important. The rest is just luxury, it doesn't make us happy, and it doesn't make people like us. I am glad for lessons like this that remind me what I should be focused on and where my priorities should be.