An Instructive Moment about Life

To me, this story is where the rubber meets the road. This, to me, is where what we learn through society totally opposes what we learn from following Jesus. There's no mistaking this lesson for what it is - it comes right out and strikes you between the eyes in an attempt to wake you up from how society has taught you to live your life.

This is also one of those places where you can see a real shift in how the real world is so different now than from 2000 years ago. Some things stay the same through time - this, apparently isn't one of them. If our life span was still about 40 years, I'd say "Hey keep your investments and your portfolios and your 401K plans! I've got a life to live here!" but...knowing our lives could very well last double that amount of time leads us to think of money and possessions in a whole different way. We are almost FORCED to save up for a nest egg because what if we reach age 65 and can't work any more? Who will care for us for free? How would we live for the next 15-20 years?

So there's the connundrum. How much should we save and how much should we give away? How much is careful planning and how much is untrusting hoarding? Don't look at me - I certainly don't have the answer. I've been struggling with this whole money issue since I began thinking from a Christian standpoint a year ago. How do I please God and show trust and faith that He will provide for me and how do I keep from losing my house and being thrown out on the street?

I could go on and on...

The prayer was great for this chapter. Every point made me stop and reflect. Every sentence had real points to go to God with. My favorite line in the whole chapter was in the prayer:

"Teach me that life is more than the things necessary to sustain it."

Amen to that one. Life is not the nouns we fill it up with but the actions that our verbs take on. Two thumbs up for me on this chapter.