Sometimes we lose track of friends. Ed, my old neighbour from Saskatchewan, has been focused on his harvest and I have been involved with some extra activities myself. When we did talk yesterday, he was amazed I was doing another week of curling lessons. I told him I was in the 55-and-older group where we are slow to learn and quick to forget. I am not certain if I will try weekly league curling this year or not. I need to consider the cost of the equipment and the cost of curling for the year.
I told Ed curling must be seen as a luxury rather than a necessity. Our fixed income won’t stretch for too many unnecessary extras. My old neighbour said curling is worth doing so I should do it and when we run short of grocery money, I could go to a food bank as long as Chilliwack has one. I told Ed that going to the food bank would be cheating, taking food from folks who truly need it. I struggle to keep straight the difference between what I need and what I want. The poor are struggling to survive.
As a Christian, I need to realize the money I spend on my curling could also be used to help the poor to have the necessities of life. Am I willing to give to the poor the same amount of money I spend on curling? I do know God was, and is, always concerned with the poor. The poor were the widow, the fatherless, the alien, the stranger, the hungry, those needing clothes and the sick. The Bible asks: “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”
In the Old Testament the prophets like Amos denounced the wealthy who trampled on the needy and loved money so much they cheated to get more. They made their grain measurement of an ephah less than its full weight and their shekel weights greater than it should be. Their balances were also deceitfully false. They were cheating in their business practices to line their own pockets making it even harder for the poor to have enough to survive. Their cheating, greedy way of life hurt the poor, but they did not care.
The love of money was and is the root of all kinds of evils. We live in a materialistic age where it is hard to find folks who believe craving money could lead them to grief, sorrow, pain and misery. God's Word is clear that you cannot serve God and money. Money is exalted universally, but what we glory in may be an abomination to God. We certainly need money to live, but it is a great challenge to have a proper perspective on our money. If you love money, you can never have enough.
Whether we have a little or a lot of money, Christians must decide if they are trustworthy in handling the money and things God has given them. Might God be nudging us to see that the money we have is not just for us?
