Kingdom Values

I was exploring the call of the Kingdom on our lives and how that is reflected by living differently than the world. Counter-cultural is the term. And why is it so hard?
I suppose the biggest reason that stops the gospel from permeating all of our lives (finances, living arrangements, standard of living, where we live, how we act, what we buy etc...) is the big cultural assimilation. We've assimilated. Christians have swallowed whole the lie of this current culture that comfort, individual success and wealth are the keys to happiness.
Despite the fact that statistics reveal it's a sham we persist in believing the cultural lie of media/advertising and the rich and the famous...idolising their lives and their standard of living. Even Christian parents seem to be more concerned with safety and normal standards (meaning an upper middle class lifestyle) than with identification with the gospel and the poor.
Anyway, the question is if we aren't called to live among the poor in an incarnational lifestyle HOW do we identify with the weak, the poor and the marginalised... because at the heart of the gospel is at least an identification. So how do we do it?
This is the question to answer with our lives. a few ideas?
invest in a relationship with someone who isn't like you (different colour, different economic background, different faith)
invest in a community project (neighbourhood) that is economically depressed
start with knowing your own neighbours
leave willful ignorance behind and trade it in for informed realism, coloured with kingdom hues of justice and hope
start hanging out with unbalanced people
take some risks for Jesus...
protest something - just get used to the idea of being counter cultural and finding your voice

just a few ideas to get started... but learning to live against the common culture is a difficult journey. there is no doubt that assimilation is the path of least resistance and in our case great comfort... but not for long. There is nothing satisfying about serving the god of mammon. So come on, join the revolution. To hell with poverty.