Two Twenty Pound Notes

Here are two £20 notes. 

The one on the left has been through a horrible time. It has been abused and just a complete mess. 

The one on the right is pristine & crisp, not touched.

A question... is the one on the left worth less than the one on the right?

Don't let anyone put you down just because you've been through a tough time. We are ALL equal. We are worth the same value. We just have perfect imperfections which make us who we are!

A thought shared with me for World Mental Health day.

M is for Money

Whoever loves money never has enough;

whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.

This too is meaningless.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NIV)

Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NLT)

Are You A Dummy?

“There's plenty of money out there. They print more every day. But this ticket, there's only five of them in the whole world, and that's all there's ever going to be. Only a dummy would give this up for something as common as money. Are you a dummy?”
Grandpa George, from 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' by Roald Dahl (2005 film)

Tough Times Don't Last

I read a fact the other day about modern day family budgets. I really wish that I'd made a note of it when I saw it, because I didn't think I would have to quote it so soon in a blog post. Oh well.

The writer was pointing out that most families in the 1960s (the decade when I was born) still found life tough, however in those days most families had one family member working regularly full-time. In today's world, many families have to have both partners working, sometimes holding down two jobs, in order to make ends meet. I remember thinking - where have we as a society gone wrong? Is modern life really that much harder?

During the church meeting this past Sunday (which included the dedication of a child to God), we were reminded of exactly how much money it costs to bring up one child to adulthood. Over £200,000 apparently! See here.
 

Anyway, the other day I received an email in my inbox that continued to give me food for thought on this topic. It included the phrase:
 

"Tough Times Don’t Last, Tough People Do"
 

Isn't that a terrific way of looking at life!

If you’re discouraged - and let's face it, encouragement is a rare enough commodity nowadays - there are one or two things you can do to counter those feelings.

Let’s say your neighbour arrives home with a brand new car. One way to react is with feelings of desire and envy. Perhaps you are already working out ways to get a new car for yourself.

But there is another way. Be positive. Give thanks to God for the car that you already have, which meets your family’s current needs. Realise that you don't need the pressures of taking out yet another car loan.

It's your choice. So choose how to think about it. Get tough with your inner self, cut out the negative thinking, and get positive.

Are you bemoaning the fact that you never have enough money? Try being thankful for the money that you do get. Life would be so much harder if you didn't have that...

Is this situation too difficult? Don't give up. Think of it as a challenge!

But it's too much for me to bear... if only I had more money? Everything would be OK then... More money is not the answer, it's how you manage it.

And situations do change... if you can make the right choices and stick with it, you can outlast these setbacks. You can do it.

Think about it.

In God We Trust

"You cannot serve both God and Mammon"

The famous words from Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:24).

Whom do you serve? Do you serve the Lord - the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob? Or do you serve the god called “mammon.” You can only have one God.

We all know the word mammon has something to do with money. But the original word used here (and also in Luke 16:9-11) isn't the common word for money. Instead, Jesus uses an Aramaic word meaning riches... not in fact the name of a god, but in reference to the greedy - those who love wealth so much that it takes the place of God in their lives.

We are called to make good use of any money we are allotted - it's a tool we are given to help others, not just to help ourselves. Jesus reminds us that our wealth does not really belong to us; we are just stewards of it for a short time. You can't take it with you...

'Mammon' implies money that is an end in itself. Rather than provide for your friends and family, followers of mammon would sell out their friends , their family, their country, even their integrity . . . Just for money.

The United States of America was once wise enough to remember to put “In God We Trust” on its money. A useful reminder.

I find it necessary to make a stand here. Anything that I do, I want to use to build up the Kingdom of God, not necessarily my own.

You see, when it comes down to basics - the Lord isn't interested in your skill set; in what you can do for Him; what you can earn for Him. He's looking at one thing - whether you trust Him, put your hope in His unfailing love.

He's not so worried about our abilities; He's more concerned about whether we trust His abilities.

Would It Spoil Some Vast Eternal Plan

I've been thinking.

I can quite possibly spend up to an hour a day just checking over my bank account, making sure everything is going OK. Making sure all the Direct Debits have gone of the account without incident. Finding alternative ways of getting a quart out of a pint pot. Working out how to afford good things for the family. You know the routine. I doubt if I am alone at the moment, in the current economic climate...

I know I'm not particularly gifted in finances, but it never fails to amaze me when I reach the end of the month and realise that all the bills got paid.

I give all the credit to my Father in Heaven for his mercies here. Answered prayer, indeed.

However, it got me thinking... Why are things this way? Surely I could be so much more effective in my daily life if I didn't have to spend so much time trying to reason out how to make it work... And what about the things I'd love to do - places I'd love to go - but I simply don't have the disposable income.

What about that, Lord?

I keep coming back to the lyrics of "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof (written by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock). In the film version, Reb Tevye (Topol, pictured above) talks to God about his dreams for a more comfortable life. His heart's desire to spend more time studying God's word, which in his words, would be "the greatest thing of all". Can't disagree with that. Of course, it's really tough to come up with many examples of any 'rich men' who spend their time in scriptural study. I think most of their time is spent in shareholder meetings, in estates management. Those kinds of distraction.

I would like to think that I could do so much more if I had more resources available to me. I could provide for my family much better. I could give much more to my favourite causes. Give it away to comfort the poor and the needy. Make the world a better place.

And yet - my Father in Heaven has "decreed I should be what I am". He has placed me in one of the richest countries in the world; therefore I will never know real poverty. He regularly challenges my thinking, teaches me about the truths of scripture, shows me 'the pearl of great price'. He reminds me that I am a work in progress. And that His provision in my life may be seen as much by what He doesn't give me than by what He does.

Not About The Money

It's not about the money, money, money
We don't need your money, money, money
We just wanna make the world dance,
Forget about the price tag
Ain't about the Cha-Ching Cha-Ching
Ain't about the Ba-Bling Ba-Bling
Wanna make the world dance,
Forget about the price tag.
(chorus to 'Price Tag' by Jessie J; written by Jessie J, Dr. Luke, Claude Kelly and B.o.B)

1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV)
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Everyone has a different opinion about money and how to handle it - particularly with the current state of the world economy. There are stacks of places where you can get advice on the subject - including, of course, biblical teaching. I am informed that money is mentioned 140 times in the Bible, with gold specifically mentioned 417 times and silver 320 times (King James Version).

And it's interesting to note how often Jesus talked about money - there's ten separate references recorded in the gospel of Luke alone. Consider the challenging words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 6:24 (NIV), where He says, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

I've been thinking and praying about this a good deal lately, following a few discussions in the Corps and some diligent reviewing of my family's finances.

My personal view on the subject? Money is an essential in my life - but only insofar as it enables me to help others. It's there to facilitate what I can do for my family, for my church, for others. It's what I need to keep the car running, to keep the children fed; to allow me to go to the places that I need to be.

I fight against frustration on those occasions when the money simply isn't there. I do what I can with the budget that I have. I often think about how much more effective I could be if I had more resources - but that's not the way it is. God teaches me to be content with what I have; how to budget; how to prioritise.

While planning this post, I spent an hour or two looking round the shops this week - window shopping, I simply didn't have the cash to buy anything that day. I saw the shoppers weighed down by the bargains in their bags, trying to live well beyond their means, seeking contentment in the latest gadget or fashion accessory. It made me a little sad

Because, you see, it's not about the money... not about the money at all.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NIV)
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.