For the love of money

I had an interesting discussion last night with my small group (a.k.a. bible study group) on the topic of money. We all had read the book The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn, which is a book on money and giving. The discussion took two directions because the bible is not exactly cut and dry in regard to saving and giving of money.

We looked at five versus supporting saving money for the future and then we looked at five that said to give it away to the poor and needy. We even looked at an article from Time Magazine on the topic, which was rather surprising (since they are not exactly the most reliable source).

Some felt as though saving was more important that giving and others felt the other way around. I took the middleground. I feel it is smart to save money for the future but with caution. Money, in all truth, is the root of all evil and it's very easy to slip and let money own you (e.g. where you store you treasure there your heart will be also). It's also possible to fall into the habit of looking to money to solve your problems rather than seeking out God and giving Him the chance to work in you and through you.

I also feel it is important to give of one's self, whether it's money, time or energy. With each passing day I see more and more how life is not me but about you, and by giving we exercise that idea. We move beyond ourselves and the rewards are endless when we give.

The pursuit of money is life a marathon. You have the runners, the fans and then the rest of world who are either ignoring the race, or are unable to compete, or have more important things to do with their time.

The runners are people who regularly think about money, work toward gaining more of it and enjoy showing off their money. They even form private clubs that are exclusively for other runners. Occasionally they will offer free advice to amateur runners but mostly they charge for their time, for money is so ingrained into their lives.

Then there are the fans. These are the so-called friends of the runners. They have little or no money but follow those who do, for they want to be near money and enjoy the benefits of it. They also attempt to gain money by running in mini-marathons (get-rich-quick schemes, playing the lottery, etc.) or by stealing it.

And finally, you have the rest of the world - the 97 percent of the world poorer than the average American. They simply have no money and have learned to live without it. Most are content with their standard of living and are truly happy - that is until they are somehow influenced by the other 3 percent (for reference watch The gods must be crazy).

I always thought my own mother was a little crazy when she would tell me in my youth that she wished our family was poorer so we all would learn to appreciate the things we had, and now today I can honestly say I see where she was coming from with those speeches.