Nike sneakers, give them the best
of everything—the best that money
can buy. Think about it. As subtle
as it is, the majority of our focus is
on gathering as much money as we
can. We believe this is the prudent
way to live: a rational, intelligent
way to provide us with a sense of
security. We are finding out the hard
way, it is apparently a false security.
But what if there wasn’t any money?
Then what? What if we discovered
EVERTHING we thought was prudent and intelligent was worth nothing? Then what would we do? Die?
Some actually do. Consider this: if
there was no money, where would
our worth come from? Would we
still be looking to our government
to solve our problems, or would we
be taking responsibility for our own
lives?
An American
Christmas: 2008
Why does money make people crazy? If we have too little we are crazy
with fear. If we have too much we tend to lean toward excess and
greed. If we have just enough we spend our days worrying about not
having enough—not getting that new car—not having that great big
house—not having enough money to send our kids to the best college.
Well, what if life is NOT about money? America is supposed to be the
land of opportunity. But you can look at the meaning of opportunity in
two ways. Webster defines opportunity as a “favorable time.” Hmm…I
guess that could mean a lot of things: a favorable time to love, a
favorable time to give, a favorable time to make money, a favorable time
to learn, a favorable time to make decisions, a favorable time to focus on
what is truly important.
Well hold on to your hats, this is my
favorable time to offer a word of
clarification. America was created and
built on Christian values—not money.
Somewhere along the way, we have
subtlety acquiesced into the pit of
misunderstanding. America has abused
the term “the land of opportunity” to
get as much money as we can. We invest in
the stock market hoping to get rich. We invest in our retirement fund to feel secure, to make sure we have enough money when
we are old. We save our money in the bank for “a rainy day.” We feel
we HAVE to send our children to the best college, buy them the $100.00
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Hey, here’s an idea. Remember the
people who started this country?
Wow, they didn’t have any electricity, or running water, or fancy cars.
They took care of themselves and
each other. They had the gift of time:
time to think, time to help, time to
work, time to harvest, time to love.
Wow...they didn’t even HAVE a stock market: HOW did they survive?!
Well, they just did. They looked to “The Lord Jesus Christ” (yes, that’s
a quote) for a diagram in faith, a road map in how to live, and the foundation on how to run our country. They knew because they believed.
They knew what it would take to create a land of freedom and integrity.
They had no time to
be afraid of losing
their money, because
they HAD no money!
Yet this great country
was formed under
horrendous circumstances of hardship
and pain. But these
people had their
eyes on Jesus and the
value of their families
and each other.
Having nothing was a
way of life: having everything was reality.
You may be thinking
everything is relative.
We need money, lots
Woman
TEXAS
FREDERICKSBURG