Christian Living

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It is not uncommon to hear an expert bringing a dire warning. From global warming, to Internet security experts are often warning us of the very real danger of things we either have not seen or do not appreciate. Many of these warning fall on deaf ears. When the warnings don't seem to materialize, remember the Y2K disaster that never happened, we tend to become complacent.

This week an expert in Australia bought a very simple warning. His warning was so simple and so clear that you would think everyone would take notice. But strangely most proceed without a second thought.

And what was his warning you ask? People increasingly are acting irrationally with purchasing and we will pay a price. His warning was blunt, " the problem is that more and more people are buying more and more things they don't need, with money they don't have ( ie credit cards), placing them in bigger and bigger houses, with larger and larger mortgages in order to impress people they don't like. And not surprisingly this ends us making us less and less satisfied. It sounds like a script for TV's the Bold and Beautiful or Desperate Housewives.

While all this is going on we see huge lines outside some petrol stations that offer a 4 cent per litre discount on petrol. Now if you have a large car with a tank of say 75 litres, then the wait might save you as much as $3. But I have watched people wait for 20 minutes to get this saving. I am confused as to why we waste money on so much stuff we don't need and then waste time, burning fuel, in a queue to save $3.

The old book warns us of the dangers of having our emphasis on things.

""Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."
(Matt. 6:19-20, NIV)


To store up treasure in heaven we need to invest in our relationship with God, first. We need to invest in the people we love. We need to be generous in supporting the ministries of our church and mission in its many forms. We need to get serious about developing youth. And we need to tackle the poor on a local and especially a global scale.

Maybe if we cared less about what people thought and more about what God values we may actually be richer in the things that really count.

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