One of my biggest struggles in writing on different topics of personal finance is at times I have to wonder: Will people actually do these things?

It’s one thing to say you need to save more, but are you actually putting that into action and doing it for yourself?

One of the reasons why I think this is so difficult for millions of people across the globe is simply because of the culture we live in. Having material possessions is considered a type of power, authority, and there is a certain degree of pride that comes with it. Our life is so limited to the temporary, that we miss the bigger picture. We are too easily pleased by what we can do with money, and what we can buy, when the true happiness in life is found outside of these things.

C.S. Lewis gives great perspective on this when he says…

“If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

Isn’t that sad to think about? We might be living our life making mud pies, when God has something much greater planned for us.

Because of this, I want you to be careful…

Be careful of falling into jealousy, coveting the possession of others, ego, pride, desire for wealth or material success. It’s not worth it, and it can lead you into a very dangerous place. Value the people in your life, value the time you have with them. Put others first, and be characterized by a heart of gold that looks to the needs and interests of your friends and family. Pray for your enemies, and look for ways to serve them also.

I want you to take caution in what you are seemingly finding joy and satisfaction from. Life is not based on the temporal, earthly, or material, but it is based on the end goal of eternity in heaven.

I spend a lot of my time thinking about money. What to do with it, how to save it, what is the best way to spend it, where to stash it, how to make the most of an investment. And I share all of these things with you…

But don’t be mistaken, money is not what my life is centered on. Yes, it is my work, it is a part of what I do every day, but it is not what makes me who I am, and it is not what I put my whole heart and faith in to. Yet I must say, at times I have cared a little too much about money…

I have based big decisions off of money when I should have been thinking about something else, or someone else…

I have cried over the thought of “not having enough” money…

I have felt the greed set in when I want more money than I have already earned…

My warning and advice today is not to scare you, but rather to give you a more clear perspective on what our lives are about. Make an effort to put the Lord first in your decisions, and not your emotional view of money. It will never be enough, and it will never satisfy.

The culture will tell you to do whatever you can to get ahead. Make the most of your days, and specifically, make the most of your money…

Buy that car you’ve always wanted, buy the house you can’t afford, and you see that great fur coat over there, GET IT, you deserve it…

Oh how deceived we are by our surroundings. We take moments that are meant to bring us closer to Christ, and we thwart them to moments of selfishness and greed.

Your challenge today: Go against the grain, and don’t make money your focus in life.

 

By: Erika Pizzo

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Going Against the Culture
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