Thursday, 12 June 2008

  • My husband and I have made some pretty radical changes in how we spend our money over the past few years. Yet, I still find that the 'pull' of this world's system is ever a temptation. I'll be cruising right along doing great on my budget and resisting the pull of material things and then something will come along that tempts me and I find myself diving head long into a poor purchase choice. Then, just like a diet, I'll pick myself back up and resolve to do better next time. Just like any other bad habit that needs to be changed I'm finding that my mind must be continually renewed. My thinking must be changed. Worldly, materialistic thoughts must be replaced with godly thoughts. As Christians we are told in Ephesians 4: 22-24 to renew our minds.

    Those of us who have the daily influence of the television or even magazines and shopping malls may find that we have been more influenced by the world's standards than we realized.

    The video link below was a good wake up call for me to reevaluate my priorities AGAIN. How am I spending my money? Just click on the link below and it will take you through a slide-show that is is very honest about the way most of us Americans spend our money and our time.

    http://joel.mawhorter.org/priorities/priorities-intro.html

    I really appreciate presentations like this one because it causes me to take a good long look at how I am spending my time and money. I find it very challenging! There is so much more that God's Word calls us to be doing as Christians other than promoting my own (families) comfort, ease and accumulation of stuff. We are called to duties such as helping the widow and the orphan, feeding the poor and clothing the naked not to mention making disciples and using our gifts in our church.  The list goes on.

     Are my priorities... my top priorities... the same as what Scripture says they should be?

    Would someone know I was a Christian by just looking at my checkbook?

    Or my home?

    Would they find enough evidence of  how I spend my money to convict me as a Christian?

    Or would my checkbook (and home) look like every other Americans?

    Are my goals for this life the same as every other American? Or am I seeking first God's kingdom and His righteousness first?

    Do I love the THINGS of this world? Then scripture says that the Lord of the Father does not dwell in me.

    Personally, I think the facts and biblical truths found in this slide show are one of the best motivators to live frugally! So that we will have enough money left over each month to help those in need and promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ instead of promoting a lifestyle of comfort and ease for ourselves and our families

    Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.! 1 John 2:15

     

     

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Comments (11)

  • BooksForMe
    That slide show was very disturbing, very effective, very heartbreaking.
  • AmericanJanet
    I don't know about your checkbook or your home, but you can certainly tell that you are a Christian by a quick glance at your xanga site! I agree that it is a good idea to keep reexamining one's life and to make sure that you are not falling short or missing the boat. But sometimes it is good to have some positive feedback that one is doing something right! So let this be that for you: You are witnessing every time you post, and it is positive and surely doing good for the Kingdom! Have a good weekend!
  • anonymous
    Thank you for this.  I am always looking to see if my budget aligns with my values, but sometimes I feel that I am waiting until I have "enough" money before I give to the charities I love.  We should give first and trust that we will be taken care of.  You cant' outgive God.
  • DiscipleshipAcademy

    That is a pretty powerful slide show. I get the feeling that whatever I do it will never be enough. On the other hand, I must do something.

    My family is supported by a real estate agent and the market for real estate is so tight now that being frugal is not so that we have money left to give, but so that we can cover our basic needs. I must say, this time of frugal living will certainly train us to live on less so that when God's blessing increase there will be more to give for Kingdom work.

    Blessings,
    ~Margie
  • grannyfox
    I'm finding the cost of gas a good deterent to going shopping. I've always struggled with the question of how much should we give up in order to give to others. I think it is one of those things that you need to ask God about. I do feel guilty tho when I buy something that is a luxury. I do think your tithe has to come first everyone should be participating in there churches missions to start and then from there we should ask God what He would have us do and also be ready to help if we see a need by having money available or if not money yourself. The thing is we can't help ever need out there and it gets overwhelming to think about it. It is a good motivator tho to be a good steward of our money and our time.
  • SunnySusan
    Awesome post..I will watch that a little later tomorrow...we(my hubby and I)were just talking about our budget and how we can rein it in more.....thanks...perfect...
  • loaine
    I tried your recipe for the Black Bean & Corn Salad.We all liked it.(I had guests for supper).I was hesitant to add two jalapenos because I thought it might be too "hot".Next time I'll add two!
  • lambsbook

    For those of us whose hearts are tender toward the Lord, our desire is to please Him in all our ways.  However, that also makes us vulnerable to false guilt by those who seem to have a superior spirituality.

    If you follow the links at joel.mawhorter.org. you will see that he is connected to a group called “Kingdom Now”. They are also known as Dominion Theology, or Reconstructionism.  They believe that Jesus will return to set up His kingdom on this earth as Christians reform society by taking control of politics and other human institutions.  You can read more about this movement here: http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/cor/dominion.htm

     The Lord loves you, Georgene, and your writings have been a blessing to me and many others.  May we all walk in the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ as He meets our daily needs. 
  • georgene

    @lambsbook - Thank you for the warning. I'll definitely do some investigating. I hope each person reading will do the same.  I do believe that the message of the slide-show was biblical even if this man's theology is not. I do not believe we are called to a 'social gospel' but that Christ does teach us by His life and words not to love the things of this world.  

    I appreciated this slide-show. I often need a little bit of 'shock' therapy to help me re-evaluate my priorities. When I read blogs of Christians living in other countries I realize that I can be so easily caught up in this worlds system that the things of Christ can be easily crowded out. The slide-show helped me to re-evaluate my priorities. For that I am thankful.

    Thank you, again, for the warning.

  • happymomathome
    Huge Props!
    That slideshow was amazing and convicting, and I already have a heart for the poor and suffering in the world. Thank you so much for this post and the reminder that it is so easy to be tempted by the things of this world but it is the people who are so very much more important to God.
  • anonymous
    Hi Georgene,
    I just stumbled upon your website through the link to the slide show. My husband actually put together the slide show. I assure you that we are not at all associated with Dominion theology or Reconstructionism. The Kingdom Now website that Joel linked to unfortunately does from it's title sound like it's involved with Kingdom theology. If you go and read through the Kingdom Now website that Joel linked to you can see that they are also not associated with the Kingdom theology that your friend warned about. In fact, they're almost the exact opposite.

    We emphatically do not believe that we can set up a perfect kingdom here on earth. That will only happen upon the return of Christ. We do not believe that the kingdom of God is of this world or has anything to do with taking over political systems. We've run into Christians that hold to these ideas so I know what your friend is referring to. We are simply advocating for each and every Christian to do all they can for Christ now and to not settle for less then our best for our king.

    Thanks for linking to the website.

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    • From: georgene
    • Posted: 6/12/2008 8:58 PM

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