The Gospel according to John the Baptist

I have got into the habit of reading Dr Richard Becks blog, Experimental Theology, lately. He has some very thought provoking insights drawing from Psychology and Theology in an attempt to understand more of scripture. Recently a post of his "The Gospel According to John the Baptist" caught my eye as it is something I have never really thought much about before. What is the essence of what John saw as repentance, as preparation for the coming of Jesus and the Kingdom?

Referencing Luke chapter 3, Dr Beck summarises it as follows:

"Repentance, for John, looks like this:

If you have extra clothing, share it.
If you have extra food, share it.
Do not charge (or collect) more than what is fair.
Do not pressure or extort people for money.
Be content with your paycheck."

That is interesting, isn't it? Repentance for John the baptist is reflected in how we apply our finances and possessions. As Dr Beck says, it's more practical than emotional.

It seems to me that scripture never separates the practical day to day aspects of our lives from our salvation. We live out our salvation every single day through the choices we make in how we share what we have and how we apply our pay-check.

How do you fare on John's scale of repentance?