Tag: Finances

Digging in Deeper: Luke 12:19-21

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“Then I’ll say to myself, ‘You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared — whose will they be?’ That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What is the proper end for the things you have? Do you ever think about that? If you’re like me, that’s probably not a question that crosses your mind very much. You get stuff and you use it or don’t. That’s it. But what if there’s more to that story than you and I often think? What if the stuff isn’t really ours first? Let’s talk this morning about a new perspective on our stuff and one of Jesus’ most uncomfortable parables.

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Digging in Deeper: Proverbs 30:7-9

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“Two things I ask of you; don’t deny them to me before I die: Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need. Otherwise, I might have too much and deny you, saying, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Last fall I saw the news that one of the largest PowerBall jackpots ever had been won by a single person. The total prize was just north of $2 billion. The lump sum prize payout was a shade less than $1 billion which seems like it would be a major letdown minus the fact that it is still more money than the vast majority of the world will ever see in their entire lifetime. No one wants to be poor. That’s part of why so many people play the lottery. Nearly all of them lose, of course, because the lottery is a game for people who can’t do math. (Unless your name is Jerry Selbee – this is worth a read – in which case just the opposite is true.) What we want instead, though, as amply demonstrated by the tens of millions of people who nonetheless bought tickets in hopes of winning this particular prize, is to be rich. But what if neither of these paths were the wisest to take through life? Let’s talk this morning about the wisdom of a third way.

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Morning Musing: Proverbs 18:11

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“The wealth of the rich is his fortified city; in his imagination it is like a high wall.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I have done a fair bit of premarital counseling over the years. As I have, one of the things I have addressed with my couples every single time is finances and their thoughts on money. This is because financial pressures lie at the heart of a number of marital disagreements. One of the exercises I always do helps each partner reveal what for them is the meaning of money. With only one exception in 15 years, the answer has always been the same: Money is security. We live in a culture in which the vast majority of people view money as a source of security. While that is completely understandable, Solomon had something to say about it here to which we had probably give some attention. Let’s do that this morning as we continue our journey exploring how to get better at being rich.

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Digging in Deeper: 1 Timothy 6:17

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“Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Are you rich? That’s an uncomfortable question to try to answer. The reason is that the answer has as much to do with feelings as it does actual economic reality. And, of course, no one wants to appear prideful in their wealth. There are some places with a sufficiently high amount of wealth per capita that someone who is economically impoverished in relative terms could go to a different place and live like royalty. The question, then, really isn’t so much one of whether or not you are rich (if you are reading this, you probably are), but of how to be rich well. Starting with some wisdom from Paul here, and with the direction of Pastor Andy Stanley, we are going to spend the next few weeks, Lord willing, talking about how we can be better at being rich. If being rich is something that is at all on your radar, you are not going to want to miss this.

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The Onramp to Big Living

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This week we come to the end of our series, Live Big. We have been talking specifically about how to live with the abundance God has planned for us in Christ through the lens of our finances. This week we broaden things out to see how we can take those same principles and experience that abundance in our whole lives. Let’s talk this morning about the onramp to big living.

The Onramp to Big Living

We’ve talked about advertisements several times over the course of this series. Not any ads in particular, but the trend of advertising generally. The reason for this is that observing a culture’s advertisements can actually tell you a lot about what that culture values and believes. Advertisers work really hard and are paid big bucks to find ways to convince you to want whatever some company has hired them to sell. In order to do this, they always have to have their finger on the pulse of the people to whom they are trying to sell. They frame certain products in certain ways because they have a pretty good sense that is going to be what will convince you to want it. Cultural slogans tell us a certain amount, but advertisements tell us more. With this in mind, check out a commercial I saw recently from the company, Boost Mobile. 

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