Money Post (Pt 4)

What’s my point in writing all these posts about money?

My point is this: We don’t need as much of it as we think we do and we need to stop looking at what the perceivably rich people have and gorging ourselves over their apparent wealth and our apparent poverty. There’s a word for all this you know, “Coveting.”

Let’s just rebrand this whole “Inequality of Wealth” deal in America to either a) “We’re Babies and Want the Other Kid’s Legos” or b) “Selfish Coveters Who Are OK with Demanding to Have Your Stuff.” Take your pick. Folks the grass is always greener somewhere else (sound familiar? Like your mom said it when you were an incapable child?).

Take what you are given, what you earn (by the extravagant grace, mercy and love of God who let you live, allowed you a job, and set you in America) and use it wisely and shrewdly.

Remember that it is God who gives and takes away and that those enormously wealthy people will have a hard time coming to the fountain of grace because their money will hold them back. Remember that you too are one of the 1% of the world by living in America and that to those to whom much is given much will be expected. Remember to thank the Lord for his great provision in your life and give to him your tithes and offerings. Remember God is King and you; you are not. Remember that it’s free grace that saves our damnably wretched souls and it is free mercy that rains down in our heart to make us even notice God. Remember our biggest problem is our sinful rebellion against God NOT the lack of some odd little trinket that will lose its entire luster in a week.

Money Post (Pt 3)

There are some things we need, some things that are nice to have, and everything else are just wants. Food and water those are necessary, we need them to live. Shelter – a home – that’s nice to have, but not a necessity necessarily. Then there’s all the stuff to go in the house, all of that is socially dictated by the culture you’re in. Beds in India are floors sometimes. Kitchens in Egypt are sparse. Showers in Uganda are rivers.

Food – God will give us our daily bread. Water – there are people screaming out in hell for a drop on their ravaged tongues and it not only drizzles on us here in America, but it floods from the skies at times. Are you getting it? What you need has been provided in abundance here in America. The “Inequality of Wealth” we’re talking about is the ability or inability to get horribly made pieces of wood and ceramic at a store to stick on a wall and smile at once! We’re whining at the fact that someone’s grass is greener than ours! We’re discontented children screaming that their ice cream is bigger than ours.

“Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

A point here: Jesus didn’t instruct us to pray for tomorrow’s food and sins, he told us to pray for today’s. The troubles of today are enough in themselves, let tomorrow worry about its problems. If God gives us food for the week he has taken care of today’s bread issues and given more than we need. Anything you have beyond today is icing on the cake, cause only the Lord knows whether or not you’re even going to live to use that icing.

(Also, a thought, God dictates what we need and don't need. He gives life and he takes life away. If what you need is to experience the fullness of God without shadow or veil - he gracously gives you death. So to say water and food are necessary, God defines what is neceassry and what is lifegiving.)

Money Post (Pt 2)

This “Standard of Living” stuff set out by our fancy magazines and malls the size of cities and our selfish hearts are telling us to buy the brand new X because that’s all we need to be happy. But then there’s Y and Z to go along with X to make X look more fancy. But 1, 2, and 3 sit so nicely beside X so they are necessary too, but don’t forget to buy the insurance for X, Y, Z and 1, 2, and 3 else they brake and can’t be replaced and hey, what do you know! Your paycheck’s gone.

Then we whip out that nifty slice of plastic and swipe it away. Debt. And that just keeps crawling up there at the speed of a supersonic rocket. Then we look at the people who live in fancy houses and think, “If only I could live there, I bet they’re happy in that house.” Just to realize they have the same problem we all have, namely selfish hearts and a society that tells us to make ourselves happy with more stuff.

My point is that the rich aren’t the problem, sure they may contribute to the problem, but they aren’t the problem itself. The problem with the inequality of wealth in America is our selfish little hearts buying up stuff we don’t even need and sometimes don’t even really want…

These kids have stuff made of trash and their doing just fine. And Aldis is always selling cheap food and Goodwill has shirts for $3.49 and you can buy boots that’ll last you a lifetime for 7 bucks, but someone else wore them once.

My goodness people we can’t help but fall on our faces and worship some new something with all our money. Then when we go to church and when they ask for tithe we feel offended and affronted that some guy, let alone some God, would ask for our hard earned cash – but no worries I’ll burn that cash up on cigarettes (or some fancy meal) after service rather than see it used by God for God’s purposes.