You're So Rich, and You Don't Even Know It

Hey Guys!

Well, we've been talking about being "Authentic" Followers of Christ over the last 8 weeks. Because it's one thing to "say" your a Follower of Christ but it's a totally different thing to actually "be" a Follower of Christ. We've been in Matthew Chapter 6 and Jesus is very clear on some of the things that should be obvious in our lives if we are "truly" following Him. One of the things we've been discussing is the subject of money. Money is talked about in the Bible more than faith (402 times) and even more than love (558 times). The subject of money is talked about 2,580 times in the Bible! Jesus actually spoke about money more than any other subject other than the Kingdom of God. So, it must be an important subject, huh? Anyway, I told you guys about a website that you could go to and find out where you were on the world's richest peoples list so here's the link http://www.globalrichlist.com/ . After you go to it and type in your salary, look at the stats then come back here to the blog so we can talk. Go ahead.

So, what did you think? Pretty amazing, huh? To think that you're that rich and you didn't even realize it. It's crazy isn't it? Man, we've been lied to by all the media, that we gorge ourselves on every day, that tell us "we need this and we've got to get that" when all the time we've got soooo much more than 99% of the world's population. To think that right now, 1/2 of the world's population lives on less than $2 per day... wow! You see, we're measuring our "richness" by who we see on our favorite TV show, who we see on the big screen or who we hear on the radio. We can't do that because it will never be attainable. It's a farce... a trap... a merry-go-round that just goes in circles. The problem is that rather than just being content with what we have, we go on the never ending chase of "things" which totally saps our finances so that we don't have anything left over to help someone else. We need to re-focus. We need to look at our money as a vehicle to minister to the needs of others rather than a vehicle solely to supply stuff for me and my own family. It's so easy to fall into the trap though. To see someone else that has something nicer than what we have... it totally makes our flesh cry out for "where's mine!" And then we start the quest for something nicer. Whether it's cars, clothes, houses... it doesn't matter. We need to start looking at the other 99% of the people on the planet that are far worse off than us and gauge how much we have compaired to them. Not to some Movie/Rock Star. Because you're so rich... and you don't even know it.

OK... I need to breathe. There, that's better. Sorry. I'm just fired up about this subject right now. One day we will all stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ and we'll be rewarded for everything we've done here on earth, whether good or bad (II Cor. 5:9-11). I don't want to end up there on that day and have to give account for the way that I wasted my money on something that's going to burn-up! Especially when I could have invested my money in something that will have eternal significance. Like fighting hunger, rescuing orphans, building wells, and most importantly "spreading the Gospel." It's definietly time to change our thinking.

Love You Guys,
Jim