Good Morning! Autumn begins tomorrow, be sure to get out and enjoy the last day of summer… it’s supposed to be cloudy, cool, and rainy out here, with wind. Okay, so sometimes the seasons don’t produce exactly the kind of days that we think they should. We will just have to trust Jesus when he promises a new Earth.
This week I have been writing on giving; today I will write about spending. I am not sure about you, but I for one am much too good at spending. This is a temptation we all face in this capitalistic society. Credit cards and loans can be a useful tool, but are often a terrible temptation. Through the use of marketing, advertising, and television shows and movies, we tend to get the impression that our credit card available balance is money. It is not, it is a high-interest, short-term loan. The card issuers have become very good at what they do; keeping many people virtually enslaved to their plastic. Like guns, baseball bats, wrenches, hammers, knives, and other objects which can turn from helpful tool to device of harm and torture, we must be careful and cautious in the use of credit cards. Perhaps we should even have a Credit Card safety course in schools!
What about that 90% though, should we give every last penny to the church? Once again I will emphasize that this is between you and God. That said, what are some things that you might not think about? You work somewhere, or at least you probably should be if you are able. At that place, your company is probably interested in selling goods or services to someone else. You are a believer in Christ Jesus, and you want to provide for your family. How would you feel if everyone stopped buying from your company in order to give every penny of their earnings to the church? The paychecks would quickly stop coming and our economy would certainly collapse. Should a believer, who works at some maker of what many consider a shameless luxury item, stop working at such a place? I don’t think so; it is quite possible that just as God has called some of us to work for Cabela’s, that God might have also called a believer in Italy to work for Ferrari or Lamborghini. In our human point of view, we cannot be sure that God would not call someone to work for the maker of almost any product.
In the area of spending, I can offer this advice. If you have given your tithe, if you are saving at least some amount for emergencies and “rainy” days, and if you and those you are responsible for are taken care of financially. Then you can do what you want with your money. God may call you to fund a gift of a few dollars or a few million dollars to a charity; this is between you and Him. God may not give an answer, this assumes you pray before making a big purchasing decision, and it may be for you to decide. What if you are a person of means as they say and you can more than afford that speedboat or luxury automobile? Go right ahead and enjoy them, someone far away will be able to work and provide for their family. There is always a caution and here it comes…Don’t you worship it! Let me try a few Foxworthy’s today since it’s a Friday.
If you stroke that fancy car more than you stroke your wife (or husband).
You might be in some trouble with God.
If you think about that luxury car or fancy speedboat more than you think about God.
You could be in some trouble with God.
If you covet whatever Joe has down the street, you will be in trouble with the 10th commandment.
If your garage is on fire and you rush to save your Ferrari before making sure the family is safe,
You might be in trouble with God.
Perhaps I need some work in that area, but I still believe that your spending above the 10% tithe is between you and God. You might have just as much fun with something costing far less than that luxury item that catches your eye and be able to give the difference of what you would have spent to a charity. You might even find that it makes you feel much better to have a sensible car and some treasure in heaven. Materialism is dangerous to us and so is dying with a big pile of money. Sitting on a pile of money is uncomfortable and so is sitting on a fancy chair you cannot afford and are still paying for. Jesus told us that He is the way; follow Him and you will find your way to financial responsibility. And don’t worry about what the other person has, we are not competing against each other, Jesus has prizes for all who believe in Him.
Bucky
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