No longer necessary to envy the rich

I just read this highly unusual report that surveyed 450,000 people from the last couple years about their level of happiness in life. It appeared in the Sept. 6 early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Here’s the bottom line of the report. The happiest people in America are those who have a family income of $75,000. It seems that, according to the research, happiness increases as income increases up to $75,000 but after that there is a leveling off on the happiness scale. Beyond $75,000 you might have the ability to buy more stuff and do more things but they don’t necessarily bring a higher level of happiness. So I guess I can stop envying the rich for all the money and things they have, because I have one thing they don’t have, happiness.

I think there is a better answer to all this money and happiness talk. It comes from God and not a study or academic journal. And since He is the Creator of life I guess he should know best about what brings happiness to life. This is what he says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 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.” 1 Tim 6:6-10

In my first church, several years ago, I met my first example of this teaching gone south. The city was Norfolk. The person was Denny. He was married to Sandy. They were a great couple. Denny was a huge guy. I don’t know if I ever knew someone as massive as he was, at least not at that point in my life. He had graduated a couple years earlier from the University of South Dakota where he had enjoyed a heroic football career. He was on top of the world and determined he was going to get a huge chunk of the world’s wealth.

Denny was driven to earn more and achieve the level of affluence that “successful” people reach. He worked long hours, hardly ever took time off and drove himself to succeed. I think he may have achieved at least some of his goal, but in the wake of it all he left a broken marriage, destroyed relationships and “many griefs.”

Don’t make the same mistake. Here’s a better course.

1. Learn to be content with what you have. Until you do, you’re not ready to handle more.
2. Realize everything you have is not yours. It belongs to God and you are not going to take it with you. There are no U-Hauls following funeral processions.
3. Be satisfied with your needs being met instead of being driven by your greeds. Greed will destroy you. It IS a green eyed monster.
4. Love God and people rather than money. It will take you much farther in life and in death.
5. Protect your faith. It is far more precious than any fortune you might accumulate.

So relax. If you are anywhere close to the $75,000 family income level, it doesn’t get any better than where you are right now. Or, better yet, whatever your income level, you have the ability to enjoy your greatest happiness. You are the captain of your ship.

Who me, rich?

Jesus once said something that I always believed referred to someone other than me. He said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to make it to heaven. I was safe because I am not rich. I’m comfortable, but not rich. The same is true of you, right? Then it hit me like a knife in the heart.

Who are the rich people in the world? If you make more than a dollar a day you live better than 20% of the world’s population. Everyone in the top 20% of the wealthiest earns at least a whopping $1,800 a year! Let that hit home. If you earn more than $1,800 a year, you’re in the top 20%. If you earn over $25,000 a year, you re in the top 10 percent of the world’s wealthiest. Get this, if you earn over $47,000, then you’re wealthier than 99 percent of all humanity; you’re among the top 1 percent of the wealthiest people on the planet! Let that sink in for a minute.

Now, if it’s true, say it: “I’m one of the wealthiest people on the planet.” That’s reality. For most of us reading this, God has given you and me more wealth and ability to change things than 90 percent of humanity. This just rocks me to the core of my being. And then there’s this thing Jesus said that I’ve never really liked; “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48). Does that say anything to you?

But something is so terribly wrong. Though most Americans are in the top 10% of the world’s wealthiest, we’ve believed lies that we aren’t wealthy! Gallup Survey reports that only 2% of Americans think they are wealthy, 98% feel they don’t have enough yet. Think of how evil and deceptive that lie is.

The Bible says, Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 1Tim 6:17-19

God richly provides everything for our enjoyment— it’s not wrong to enjoy all that he’s richly provided. But he blesses us to be a blessing. He wants us to willingly, generously use it to do good.

(Adapted from Soul Revolution, by John Burke)

Invest in the Growth Fund

You might have a little difficulty making sense out of this blog post unless you also listen to the rest of the story. The rest of the story is told on Sunday morning, November 23. If you miss it in person it will be available on our website, relaxedchurch.com under online messages, “Enabling the Vision.” Here is a link to the site but the message won’t be up until after the 23rd.

http://relaxedchurch.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=57

In the message I address investments that carry with them eternal value. The Bible says you can invest for eternity by using your money for God’s purposes for your life. The investment is proven. It’s secure. It’s risk free. Its guaranteed interest. It yields dividends forever. In times of economic insecurity it is the best investment you can make, hands down. Nothing else compares.

So in addition to the three investments discussed in the message here is a fourth one that is wise to make. Invest in God’s Growth Fund.

God wants us to grow up spiritually.  So He wants you to take some of your money and invest it in yourself.  He wants you to invest it in personal improvement, in personal growth.  The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:18 “Grow in spiritual strength and become better acquainted with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

How do I do that?  How do I invest in the Growth Fund?  By using some of my money to enhance my character. The Bible says this, “The earnings of the godly enhance their lives.  But evil people squander their money on sin.”

There’s a gazillion ways to waste your money instead of using it to grow.  But God says I want you to use some of your money to grow spiritually.  Use some of your money to develop skills.  Use some of your money to educate yourself.  Use some of your money to become a better person, to improve yourself, in every area of your life.  You become a better Christ follower, a better leader, a better speaker, a better prayer, a better person.

Why?  Because that’s what’s going to last.  I hate to tell you this but you’re not taking your car to heaven with you nor house or your couch or your clothes. But you are going to take your character.  What you are.  So God says, use some of your money to invest in something that’s going to heaven. To do so is to store up treasure in heaven.  None of those other things are going.

What we like to do is use our money to invest in comfort.  But God says, “No”, invest in character, because character is what you’re going to have the rest of eternity.  The Bible says in Proverbs 23 “Buy truth and don’t sell it for love or money.  Buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight.”

What does that mean?  It means anytime you use your money to buy a Bible or spiritual book that helps you grow you’ve invested in the Growth Fund.  Anytime you use your money to buy CDs or tapes or something that helps you grow spiritually, you’ve invested in the Growth Fund.  Any time you use some of your money to pay for a seminar or a retreat or a conference that helps you improve your life, any area of your life, you’ve invested in the Growth Fund.  Anytime you use your money to take a class or get an education or anything that makes you more of what God wanted you to be and you develop what God has given you, God says that’s a good use of your money. You are investing in your Growth Fund.  As I said, we like to invest in comfort but God says, “no”, invest in your character.

Isaiah 55:2 says, “Why spend your money on food that doesn’t give you strength and does you no good.  Listen!  I’ll tell you where to get food that’s good for the soul.”  You can spend your money on junk food or soul food.  The Bible and character development are soul food.  They’re going to produce personal growth.

The Bible also says, “It is better, much better, to have wisdom and knowledge than gold or silver.”  Don’t pile up all your wealth just to pile it all up.  Use it.  And one of the ways you can use it is to get wisdom and knowledge, not silver and gold.  Money is a lot like fertilizer.  If you pile it all up it just starts stinking.  But if you spread it around it makes things grow.

God says, use your money for a purpose. I want you to grow.  Invest some of your money to make yourself better, smarter, wiser and a more devoted and skilled person.  When you do that you can make yourself an offering to God.  You can not only give an offering.  The Bible says you can be an offering.  “Take your everyday ordinary life, your sleeping, eating, going to work, walking around life and place it before God as an offering [you become an offering] Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him.”  He’s saying you don’t just give an offering.  You make yourself an offering by making yourself a better person.  By investing in the Growth Fund so that God can use you, you become an offering.