Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Public money


When writing about money it is like sharing about ones sex life? You don’t talk about it in public. What we do with our money is our business and nobody else’s and maybe if this attitude changed we would find spiritual release. If fellowship groups would allow members to express how they spend their money, how they struggle with what to purchase, and how purchasing may have become an end in itself, it may help us realize the struggle we all face. To spend money can quickly become an addictive means of satisfying us, but only for a temporary measure. A crime situation helped free me from what I owned. They wiped me out of all the usual things in the Pretoria manse and we had to claim from insurance to get all the appliances etc. back. Every item I replaced in that house I felt I would never be able to own. There was no saying when the next burglary would be, and when I would have to replace it all again. There are some positive things that come from a crime epidemic? To serve God or to serve money was the choice Jesus asked his disciples to make. To be disciples of Jesus one has to make this choice. 1 Tim. 6.9 speaks about those who want to be rich. This is a choice that is not exclusive to those who have lots of money. The don’t haves can just as easily place all their hope on material things and fall prey to the same temptation as the haves. The “kingdom of God” that Jesus warns is difficult to enter if we are money obsessed. This kingdom is not something that is realized only one day in ‘heaven’. It is a reality being realized everyday through our faith that can be experienced by the wealthy and not wealthy. That is if our focus is not on material possessions but on the God in whom we love and the people whom we are called to serve.

1 comment:

Sleepy Dog said...

Hi Dave,
Herewith is the promised comment. "Great Blog"

BTW I really hope that that isn't the biggest fish you've caught, if it is, you should try with your rod in your hands and not in your mouth. ;-) Thanks for th chat the other day, the circuit isn't the same without you. Now i am the ONLY one who doesn't know when meetings are taking place.
God bless
Stu