Getting our priorities straight
It is those who worship money as their god who will be left out of eternal life.
And this is all that Strother and I have been saying all along. Putting any earthly desire ahead of our love for doing good by God and by our fellow man is sin. Earthly wealth must be kept in check.
When the desire to make more and more money begins to consume you, it's time to re-evaluate your priorities. I just look at people who feel it necessary to have "things" and they spend all their time working instead of enjoying their families. I know men who miss dinner with their wives every night because they are working late to pay for the Porsche they just bought. Their wives sit at home lonely. I watch couples who are at retirement age, yet continue to work in order to pay off the new house they bought. The old house wasn't in the right neighborhood. Nevermind the fact that this couple is now working so much overtime that they don't see each other in the evenings anymore. And the wife works every weekend.
I am concerned for a society that values material goods over happiness. Where did we get this idea that more is better? What happened to quality? Quality of life? Quality of materials? I'm not saying that people should live like paupers. I have always been comfortable. My parents worked hard to provide for me and would never let me go without the things I needed. But they had their priorities straight. Work never came before family, even if it meant driving the same car for 15 years or not updating the house when things wore out. They taught us that time together is what matters.
Every Christmas I watch some version of "A Christmas Carol". It is absolutely one of my favorite stories of all time. It always makes me cry, but it also gives me hope. I urge all of you to read the story again this holiday season. It offers an important lesson that goes to the heart of the discussion we've been having on the BP the past couple of days.
And this is all that Strother and I have been saying all along. Putting any earthly desire ahead of our love for doing good by God and by our fellow man is sin. Earthly wealth must be kept in check.
When the desire to make more and more money begins to consume you, it's time to re-evaluate your priorities. I just look at people who feel it necessary to have "things" and they spend all their time working instead of enjoying their families. I know men who miss dinner with their wives every night because they are working late to pay for the Porsche they just bought. Their wives sit at home lonely. I watch couples who are at retirement age, yet continue to work in order to pay off the new house they bought. The old house wasn't in the right neighborhood. Nevermind the fact that this couple is now working so much overtime that they don't see each other in the evenings anymore. And the wife works every weekend.
I am concerned for a society that values material goods over happiness. Where did we get this idea that more is better? What happened to quality? Quality of life? Quality of materials? I'm not saying that people should live like paupers. I have always been comfortable. My parents worked hard to provide for me and would never let me go without the things I needed. But they had their priorities straight. Work never came before family, even if it meant driving the same car for 15 years or not updating the house when things wore out. They taught us that time together is what matters.
Every Christmas I watch some version of "A Christmas Carol". It is absolutely one of my favorite stories of all time. It always makes me cry, but it also gives me hope. I urge all of you to read the story again this holiday season. It offers an important lesson that goes to the heart of the discussion we've been having on the BP the past couple of days.
posted by Anonymous | 8:15 AM
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