blessed/cursed ... blessed?

How do you like the 21st century so far?  

Everything on an even keel?

Which is it????

Sometimes we're told that those blessed with house and car and food and happiness are the ones favored by God.

And by extension, those without such blessings are perhaps without the same favor.  Or maybe they have  been robbed by the devil.

Can we make sense of that?

Wealth equals blessing and favor from God, the best of life ...

And ...
Poverty equals the worst ... it's where none of the blessings show up.

The favored of God have all these blessings; they don't need to pray 'daily bread' prayers.  They have no occasion of begging for help or crying out for justice.  They won't need to take a stand against the world.

Their children, those of these 'favored folks'; they have everything they need and more.  They're blessed with free schools and lots of television shows and places to go with their friends.  They have no worries about whether they'll go to high school and maybe college too.  They have little need to participate in feeding themselves or the rest of the family.  They don't need to tend a garden or understand why a crop might succeed.  They're the favored of God, they are.  For sure.

How's our world doing?
Right-side up?  Or not.

Dad grew up on an Oklahoma farm during the
Depression.  His perspective on pigs was from
first-hand experience.  'Happiness is for pigs',
he'd say and smile.  'Joy, however,

is divine!'

Realistically, quality of life as viewed from inside a western perspective seems to be a blessing in direct relationship to the level of wealth and luxury involved.  Is freedom from hardship truly a blessing?  Does a biblical worldview offer more information?

Can I give myself to a western lifestyle and be a true believer at the same time?  Where are the conflicts?  Can I invest most of my days for most of my life in accumulating possessions and net worth?  Is there a conflict between that and some other purpose or calling?

We wonder why faith might be ridiculed.  Perhaps it's because what's visible is, like much of western thinking, just a bit upside-down.

Is there a right-side up perspective?  What might the foundation pieces be?