“Don’t hoard
treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or –
worse! – stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from
moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your
treasure is, is th place you will most want to be, and end up being.”
– Jesus according to Matthew 6:19-21 (in The
Message//Remix, a para-translation)
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| Make a plan to save & you will! Start small & learn to save big! |
According to July 2014 statistics*the average 50 year old
in the U.S. has less than $45,000 saved up for retirement. To give you an idea
of what that means, retirement is now about 18 years for most people. The
average cost of healthcare for that same period of time is $215,000! That’s about
five times more than the average 50 year old has saved, and that’s just
healthcare alone!
We are not a nation of savers. In fact, 36% of all Americans
don’t save anything for retirement and 25% of American families don’t have any
savings whatsoever. On the other hand, the average American household has
$118,000 in debt. It seems that what we are is a nation of unhealthy spenders
and borrowers.
And it is no wonder. After all we are given some very interesting
messages about money. Here are five false messages we are told:
1) Spending money
is patriotic and our civic duty.
We are told that our economy is built on our spending,
that a stable economy requires us to constantly be purchasing things. And we
all want a stable economy – it benefits us and others (True.) – so we must go
out and shop more (False!). In a democratic republic like ours, an informed and civically engaged person is
a much better patriot than a spend-thrift. The quality of our nation is not
built upon the purchase of its citizenry but upon the quality of its citizens.
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| Know the difference: 'Needs' vs.'Wants' |
2) You save money
by spending money.
“Buy two and get another at half off!” Logically, if you
need two, a third item still costs more, even at a discount. But we think we
are being wasteful by not purchasing that discounted third item. Or take your
rewards credit card, the more you spend the rewarded you are! In actuality, we save money by using it to buy only what
we need, no more and no less. It’s a simple, uncomplicated truth.
3) More is always
better.
Super-size, bottomless, and unlimited are
now frequent words in our purchasing parlance. We are told, “Buy in bulk and
save” so we buy quantities we don’t use or in quantities that encourage us to
be wasteful. And our national epidemic of obesity (eating too much of
non-healthy foods) is driving us to spend more and more on diet plans,
exercise, and healthcare. It is becoming
common knowledge that our environment and our bodies cannot sustain our consumptive
wastefulness. Prudence, not ‘more’, is
always better; having too much leads to our misery and demise.
4) Time is scarce!
[But money isn’t.]
“Hurry! Sale ends soon!” and “Don’t miss out on this
incredible deal” are familiar slogans. We’ve created a whole genre of cuisine
that is based on time and convenience, not nutrition. We call it “Fast Food.” In
addition, the use of credit cards, leads consumers to spend 12-18% more than
cash users. And though paying at the pump or online with a credit card is often
faster than using cash, McDonald’s
reports that credit card users spend an average of $7 per meal, while cash
users spend only $4.50 per meal. Instead, lets
slow down. Lets choose wisely. God provides enough time and money to do what
God calls us to. Truly, happiness isn’t to be found in the harried race for efficiency.
5) You NEED this! You DESERVE this!
Advertising is not necessarily a bad thing. We need to know what is available to us. But far too many advertisers presume too much. One assumption is knowing what we need. What we need is basic - water, shelter, food, companionship, health, safety. What we want is much more complex - success, ease, happiness, admiration, popularity, surplus. Becoming content and happy, and being a good steward requires becoming content with having our basic needs met. Our wants are just frosting on the cake! And as for what we deserve, who but God can tell us that!
From these five mis-messages you can see we are taught, told, and even commanded to spend money in ways that are
not according to our heart’s desire. We are told to spend money in the way that
benefits the self-interest of others. And that’s where Stewardship comes in.
Stewardship is NOT just another person telling you to spend
money the way they want you to. Stewardship is learning to use all our
resources – time (schedule & energy), talents (skills), and treasure (money
& assets) in ways that match God’s good priorities for your life and for the
lives of others. It is God saying, “Let me show you what to do with what I’ve
given you so that you can by joyful, generous, free, and constructive people!
Let me show you abundant life!” Stewardship is just training to be the kind of
person we want to be and the kind of people that God calls us to be.
So when you hear talk of “stewardship,” think “priorities
coaching” and “training the heart’s desires.” After all, Jesus says…
What I’m trying to do here is to
get you to relax, to not be so preoccuptied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he
works fuss over [material] things, but you know both God and how he works.
Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry
about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns are met.
-
Jesus
according to Matthew 6:32-33 (in The Message//Remix, a para-translation)
*Statistics are from statisticbrain.com whose sources are U.S. Census Bureau,
Saperston Companies, and Bankrate.
