Here is an article from today's Chicago Tribune. It is an interesting article in relation to our current message series. The summary of the article is that the more and more money we make, the more money we will perceive to be necessary to maintain a middle-class lifestyle.
The last paragraph of this article was the most telling:
"In the long term, we have rising prosperity and rising inequality," said Paul Taylor,
the Pew Center's project director. "I think that has set the table for
a set of economic behaviors that has led to more spending and more
borrowing to support that spending. There's no question that the
important things in life have become more expensive, and that Americans
need and want more things than they used to have."
It is spending to keep up with the Jonses. The problem is that the Jonses keep getting richer and we don't have enough money to keep up with them, so we have less and less money for the things that are truly essential and keep going further and further into debt.
The things that we often perceive as necessary are not always necessary. Would I like a new 50 inch high definition TV? Sure! But do I need that TV? Not really. In fact, I probably need it less today than ever as I find myself watching less and less TV.
Here is a good rule of thumb. Live below your means. The problem with that is that most of us don't believe we can afford to. We just cannot say no to our desires. We end up convincing ourselves that our wants are really our needs.
That is why this all starts with Jesus Christ. Because if Jesus is not our heart's first desire, we will fill that void with whatever else we can find and there is not enough money in the world to fill that void.
This coming Sunday, we are going to focus in on the other aspect of our finances. That is our income. I believe God wants to provide you with gainful employment and a good income. I believe this because I believe God wants to pour out blessing on his people so that they can in turn be a blessing to others.
I pray this Sunday will minister especially to those who are unemployed or underemployed. I pray that they will hear a wonderful message of hope in a time of crisis and that they will walk away with full confidence that God will provide.
I pray you are having a blessed week. Next weeks readings are:
April 13
Joshua 7:16-9:2
Luke 16:1-18
Psalm 82:1-8
Proverbs 13:2-3
April 14
Joshua 9:3-10:43
Luke 16:19-17:10
Psalm 83:1-18
Proverbs 13:4
April 15
Joshua 11:1-12:24
Luke 17:11-37
Psalm 84:1-12
Proverbs 13:5-6
April 16
Joshua 13:1-14:15
Luke 18:1-17
Psalm 85:1-13
Proverbs 13:7-8
April 17
Joshua 15:1-63
Luke 18:18-43
Psalm 86:1-17
Proverbs 13:9-10
April 18
Joshua 16:1-18:28
Luke 19:1-27
Psalm 87:1-7
Proverbs 13:11
April 19
Joshua 19:1-20:9
Luke 19:28-48
Psalm 88:1-18
Proverbs 13:12-14
The last paragraph of this article was the most telling:
"In the long term, we have rising prosperity and rising inequality," said Paul Taylor,
the Pew Center's project director. "I think that has set the table for
a set of economic behaviors that has led to more spending and more
borrowing to support that spending. There's no question that the
important things in life have become more expensive, and that Americans
need and want more things than they used to have."
It is spending to keep up with the Jonses. The problem is that the Jonses keep getting richer and we don't have enough money to keep up with them, so we have less and less money for the things that are truly essential and keep going further and further into debt.
The things that we often perceive as necessary are not always necessary. Would I like a new 50 inch high definition TV? Sure! But do I need that TV? Not really. In fact, I probably need it less today than ever as I find myself watching less and less TV.
Here is a good rule of thumb. Live below your means. The problem with that is that most of us don't believe we can afford to. We just cannot say no to our desires. We end up convincing ourselves that our wants are really our needs.
That is why this all starts with Jesus Christ. Because if Jesus is not our heart's first desire, we will fill that void with whatever else we can find and there is not enough money in the world to fill that void.
This coming Sunday, we are going to focus in on the other aspect of our finances. That is our income. I believe God wants to provide you with gainful employment and a good income. I believe this because I believe God wants to pour out blessing on his people so that they can in turn be a blessing to others.
I pray this Sunday will minister especially to those who are unemployed or underemployed. I pray that they will hear a wonderful message of hope in a time of crisis and that they will walk away with full confidence that God will provide.
I pray you are having a blessed week. Next weeks readings are:
April 13
Joshua 7:16-9:2
Luke 16:1-18
Psalm 82:1-8
Proverbs 13:2-3
April 14
Joshua 9:3-10:43
Luke 16:19-17:10
Psalm 83:1-18
Proverbs 13:4
April 15
Joshua 11:1-12:24
Luke 17:11-37
Psalm 84:1-12
Proverbs 13:5-6
April 16
Joshua 13:1-14:15
Luke 18:1-17
Psalm 85:1-13
Proverbs 13:7-8
April 17
Joshua 15:1-63
Luke 18:18-43
Psalm 86:1-17
Proverbs 13:9-10
April 18
Joshua 16:1-18:28
Luke 19:1-27
Psalm 87:1-7
Proverbs 13:11
April 19
Joshua 19:1-20:9
Luke 19:28-48
Psalm 88:1-18
Proverbs 13:12-14
No comments:
Post a Comment