Be careful

““But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful!”

Deuteronomy 8:11-13 NLT -- http://bible.com/116/deu.8.11-13.nlt

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and these verses fit the season. We have plenty of stuff. My home is filled with abundance and our nation is in the exact same position. We are prosperous. You could say we are filthy rich. But when it comes down to it, we don't have it all. Many people miss the entire point of life. We focus so much on our jobs and our stuff that we forget the Lord. We disobey his commands and ignore his plan for our life just to acquire things. I am not exempt from this sinful thinking. Most of us have at least some of those thoughts, yes, even Christians. It's sad but true. We need to be careful that we don't get sucked into the drive for more things, wealth, possessions, and prosperity. I need to drive toward knowing you and your plan for me.

Dear Lord, forgive me for my selfishness. Forgive me for focusing on the wrongs things of life and not focusing on you and your plan. I truly love you lord. I want you to do,I ate my life. I want you to fill me with your spirit. Amen!

Can you have too much money?

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26 NIV)

This scripture ends a lesson Jesus shared with his followers. It's after he shares how impossible it is for a rich man to get to Heaven. He drives home the point that it is tough to handle wealth and the power accompanied by it. As a matter of fact, it's not the wealth, it's the power it provides that corrupts even the mightiest man. Money is not the problem, the hearts of men, that's the problem. Accepting the grace of Jesus Christ when you are filled with earthly power, that's the problem.

Money is not the problem in our society. The unbalanced incomes are not the problem. I don't believe God puts a limit on the amount of money we are allowed to have. You can't have too much money. The real problem in our society is the distribution of power and how that power is used. The powerful people of this world need to help the powerless. Yes, many of the powerful people of this world are wealthy. But, some of those people use that power, use that money, for good. They donate and support much of the charity work in their local communities. They help schools, churches, homeless shelters, hospitals, and numerous other organizations. If these "power" people have a heart for Jesus, their power, their money, will be used for the kingdom. We need to worry more about the hearts of people and not their wealth. We need to see that all people need Jesus. When you accept Jesus and begin pursuing a life as a servant, you will start to use your power to help the poor, widows, orphans, and the lost. 

God blesses us with financial resources, not for our good or our power. He grants us those blessing to use for his service. We all have power to help others and we all have resources to make some impact on the lives of others. Use your blessings, use your wealth, use your resources for Gods purposes. Accept the grace and realize all the power you are given is a gift from God. The only real power comes from the creator of the universe.

Robin Hood

And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (Luke 12:13-15 KJV)

I want the poor to be taken care of. I want them to have jobs, education, and the same quality of life that I have. HOWEVER, I do not believe in the "Robin Hood" method of wealth redistribution. 

Very few people look at these verses closely. Jesus is talking about coveting what your neighbor has.The philosophy of entitlement and redistribution is not what Jesus had in mind. We need to provide opportunities for the poor to help themselves, not just give handouts. I completely respect the CEO's of businesses. They worked hard for their money and the companies they work for. It is ridiculous to believe they should give up all their wealth. Sure, as a Christian of wealth you have the means to support the poor and should. I have to admit I am jealous of wealthy, at times. But I know it is envy more than need. Jesus was talking about the covetousness of the man ASKING for the wealth and NOT the excessive possessions of the wealthy man. In all fairness we don't know if the man asking for the money was considered poor. Jesus considered this request as a form of greed. Jesus didn't feel it was his place to step in and divide the excesses of the wealthy man.

You can not legislate Christian giving. As a matter of fact, our government keeps trying to limit the outreach of our Christian Heritage. Christianity is being attacked in many areas of life and specifically through the arms of our government. The birth of our savior has been attacked. Our society has made it a "sin" to follow Christ just like it's been made a "sin" to be wealthy. I'm not in the top 1%. I'm a middle class, school teacher. I have all that I need and will do all that I can to help the poor to get out of their poverty. I want the wealthy to do the same thing. If we want them to share more, we should work harder to win their hearts to Jesus. A Christian heart is a giving heart. Let's stop trying to ridicule and belittle the wealthy. Our government should be working hard to promote the Christian spirit, not trying to destroy the faith that leads to serving. We should love the wealthy just as much as the poor. Let's love the wealthy and lead them to Christ. Many already are and give huge amounts of money to help the poor and needy. It is not a sin to be wealthy. It is a sin to covet!

I don't like Robin Hood!

2 Corinthians 8

 ⁸ I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
 ¹⁰ And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. ¹¹ Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. ¹² For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.





Robin Hood had it all wrong. Well, at least, he's misunderstood. It's totally against our society to force the rich to give to the poor. (I am by no means rich. Although I am probably considered in the Upper end of the middle class, I'm not rich!)  If the rich get richer illegally or corruptly, we should take it from them, just like Robin Hood. But, the largest portion of our RICH people achieved it through their own hard work or the hard work of their family. They or their families have pursued the wealth and have achieved it. Should they share it? Yes, definitely!


So how do we get a "Rich" person to share the wealth.  That's where 2 Corinthians 8 comes in to view.  The key to giving is attitude. Willingness, eager willingness are the key to living a christian life. God certainly expects you to share your blessings. He WANTS you to give abundantly. But, he doesn't want to force you. He wants you to be eager to give. He wants you to be joyous about giving the gift. If a gift is given unwillingly, it's not really a gift. In order for America to continue to be the land of opportunity, we can't force people to share their wealth. Americans must become EAGERLY WILLING to give. We shouldn't be trying to legislate giving. We shouldn't try to penalize success and hard work. We need to work on changing the hearts of the giver.  We need to change the hearts of men so they can not give enough. The greatest way to change someones heart is through the saving grace of Jesus Christ. If we want a society that shares the wealth, Christ must be at the center. 

A Nation of GOD!

Psalm 52 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ⁵ Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
   He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent;
   he will uproot you from the land of the living.
⁶ The righteous will see and fear;
   they will laugh at you, saying,
⁷ “Here now is the man
   who did not make God his stronghold
but trusted in his great wealth
   and grew strong by destroying others!”

Isn't it a bit ironic that we have "In God We Trust" on our money. The United States of America is clearly the wealthiest nation in the world. Yes, we have our poor and certainly the wealth isn't distributed to everyone. But, we are wealthy. Our "middle class" isn't much in the middle when compared to the rest of the world. I'm not sure if being the #1 nation in terms of wealth is good or bad. I guess it depends on your own perspective. A more important Statistic is what kind of Christian nation are we.

In the early years, we were known as a Christian Nation. Now, I'm not so sure. We still have the most people who claim to be followers of Christ. We don't have the highest percentage (85%) but we still have a large number of Christians in our country. But, just like with our wealth, it's more important what we do with our Christianity than sheer numbers. Quality vs Quantity!

When you put these two statistics together, being the wealthiest nation and the most Christian nation, we have a lot of responsibility. We are looked at so closely. We have to make sure we are more focused on helping others than destroying them. We need to love others with our wealth and love others with our God. It is so easy for us to get more focused on the wealth and not the soul.


God help us focus our blessings on helping bring others to know you. Lord, we know you have blessed us abundantly and you expect us to use those blessings for your purposes, not our own. Help us Lord! Amen!

I have a lot of stuff!

Psalm 49 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ¹² People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
   they are like the beasts that perish.
 ¹³ This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
   and of their followers, who approve their sayings.^[d]
14 They are like sheep and are destined to die;
   death will be their shepherd
   (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
   far from their princely mansions.
¹⁵ But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
   he will surely take me to himself.
¹⁶ Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
   when the splendor of their houses increases;
¹⁷ for they will take nothing with them when they die,
   their splendor will not descend with them.
¹⁸ Though while they live they count themselves blessed—
   and people praise you when you prosper—
¹⁹ they will join those who have gone before them,
   who will never again see the light of life.
 ²⁰ People who have wealth but lack understanding
   are like the beasts that perish.

In Garrett, Indiana I am one of the Rich. When it comes to the average person in my town, I have more than most. I have a lot of stuff. It may be hard for you to believe as an Educator I can be considered Rich. There are many people in this world who make more money than I do and have more things. But, all "riches" are relative to what they are compared to.

As a member of the "Garrett Elite" please do not be overawed by my wealth. As with all of us, I can't take a bit of it with me when I leave this Earth. When we die, our options are the same. We are either going to live in eternity at the feet of Jesus or we die a horrible death, sentenced to life apart from God. It doesn't matter what I have on Earth or what I leave behind. We will all be perfectly equal as we worship the King of Kings. If you are going to envy anything I have, envy the eternal life I have been promised. I have nothing in my possession and I have done nothing that will endure except my commitment to Jesus Christ. God doesn't look at the stuff in my house. God looks at the stuff of my Heart!

I have truly been blessed on this Earth. I don't deserve it. I did nothing of myself to acquire this wealth. It is all a gift of God. I praise him for all he has given and I promise not to think to highly of myself lest I forget my savior. It is he who gave the greatest possession I have ever had. He granted me Eternal life as a sacrifice of his own.

I'm sorry if your rich!

James 5 (The Message)

 ^1-3 And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You'll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you've piled up is judgment. ^4-6All the workers you've exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger. You've looted the earth and lived it up. But all you'll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse. In fact, what you've done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it.

Ok, I want to apologize if you are rich. Really, that term is relative. Everyone that has more money than you is probably considered rich in your own mind. I am certainly richer than most people in Garrett or Dekalb County. When you consider  unemployment at close to 10% and the statistics about jobs in our county, I am wealthier than most. Not all rich people are arrogant. These verses aren't for you. However, it seems to me that when you compare wealthy vs non-wealthy, I know more arrogant wealthy people. It seems like a disproportionately arrogant group of people.

I would also say our country has more than it's fair share of arrogant rich people. I hope my Garrett friends aren't offended.  There aren't to many wealthy people in Garrett. I say that with great affection for the people in my town. I really think my small town in northern Indiana is full of down to earth real people. We don't have a lot of people wearing the finest suits down Randolph Street. I haven't heard of local employers abusing their workers or robbing people blind. That's probably why I love Garrett. I think God prefers it that way too. 

Whether it's with CMA or hanging out with my Garrett friends. I love hanging out with middle or "lower" class hard working people. To say their lower class isn't a demeaning comment. It's a fact of economics. I consider these people much "Higher" class than the alternative when it comes to relationships. I say their real because they don't try to impress and they have priorities straight. They are people who would sacrifice their own life for a friend. Sure they'll tell you what they think in a blink of an eye with no restraint. But, again, I prefer that over people who are fake. The old saying "what goes around comes around" is always true when it comes to relationship with God. It really doesn't matter how rich you are. It doesn't matter about your clothing, your income, the car you drive, or the toys you own (including Harley's). When it comes to gaining eternally life we all have the same path. We all have to release everything we are and everything we own to the master who created it all.  We have to treat others as we would be treated and we have to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind. If we don't our wealth won't save us. We will be condemned to eternal suffering. Our priorities will need to change from loving what we have to the loving God and placing him first in our life!