The Big "D"

What would you do if you won a million dollars in the lottery? Pay off the house. Take a trip around the world. Go on vacation. I would bet that these answers are probably among the top ten answers. I bet donating to the church would be on the list too just to rationalize gambling in the first place. At the very least most people would say that they would take care of their family members or perhaps help a friend in need. Does the ends justify the means?

The subject of money has popped up numerous times in the last couple weeks. I have so many friends that are unemployed and facing possible financial ruin. I have other friends that are gainfully employed and yet still facing financial ruin for one reason or another. Our idolization of wealth and prosperity has truly brought our country to it's knees. The melt down of so many banks is definitely indicative of our financial faux paux. As a nation we diligently sought the American dream which entitles you to a house, a Disney vacation, and a big SUV. We see where this ends...financial ruin. We are no better than the Israelites of so long ago with their golden calves and temple prostitutes. We are worshiping another God, the American Dream.

The big "D" stands for two things; the Dream and the impending Debt from seeking the dream. Our banks gave out more money than we could pay back. We recklessly spent more money than we made and when the economy crashed and burned, we cried out to the government to fix it. Perhaps the government should have cried back "do as I say, not as I do".

I heard an all too familiar story of a woman that lost her house to an Ipod, a video game, and the inability to say "no". Her family had bailed her out once before but she didn't learn from her mistakes because she had been given a free pass. She continued to spend herself into foreclosure as she continued to teach her kids that stuff equaled love. I don't know what the answer is because we must learn from our mistakes and asking forgiveness entails changing our actions. We need to be held accountable for our purchases. Nobody should bail us out but ourselves lest we continue our bad behavior. Like a toddler has to face consequences for poor choices and bad behavior, so must we.

God wants us to be financially responsible. The burden of debt is not a yoke we were meant to wear. Some people take on this yoke and then cry out to God to fix it. Surely, He will not give us a "free pass" in the form of a lottery ticket so save your dollar.

What was for dinner tonight? Leftover chicken and steak fajitas turned "fajita salad".