Really?!?Sample

Salt of the Earth

When I was growing up, I always wanted the newest video game system right when it was released. Instead, my parents would wait a couple of years for the price to go down before they would buy it for me. (When you’re 12, you don’t realize how smart that is!) Why did I want the newest, nicest console? It was probably because I wanted to keep up with everybody else.

Now I’m an adult and have the same sorts of issues. I want a new car, a bigger house, or to take a nicer vacation, and I’m willing to spend more than I actually have to make it happen. How many marriages, though, are wrecked because of bad financial management? How many arguments between family members are caused because of people trying to keep up appearances in a world that values “stuff”?

What if we thought about “salt of the earth… light of the world” in reference to our bank accounts? Here’s what I mean: To follow Jesus is to live counter-culturally. It means to live unselfishly in a selfish world. It also means that our marriages should be stronger and our daily decisions should be better than people who aren’t trying to live like Jesus. Rarely do we think the same way about our finances.

Living like people who shine light into a dark world means to be people who manage our finances well. It means we live within our means so that our families are stronger and we’re able to give more to the Kingdom. The whole thing boils down to the fact that our identity is not found in material possessions or the perception of others. We can rely on God for that kind of validation.