To God or Man, To Whom Do You Look For Answers?

It seems everyone today is looking for someone to solve all their problems, whether self-inflicted or just falling victim to the state of the economy. Granted, not everyone causes their own problems, but many people do. Be it poor financial planning or just the inability to postpone gratification by wanting things right now instead of waiting until one actually has the money to purchase it. Lack of self-control creates a lot of the problems we have in today’s society. Many of our financial crises are caused by ones inability to stop spending. It’s as much a problem of the individual as the governments.

There seems to be many spoiled people in the world especially the youth of today. They want everything their parents have immediately. When they get out on their own they tend to go into debt trying to obtain it. They don’t seem to realize, in some cases, it took their parents a lifetime to gather all their material possessions. It doesn't happen overnight.

The Bible gives us many directives concerning money and many other major concerns of life. If we have a question about financial matters or life in general, I would suggest looking there first. We need Biblical answers to everyday problems. There are many opinions out in the world today concerning these problems. But most of the time they are created from a secular world view and not a biblical view. So, we should consider the world view of the person before we ask for advice. People that give a secular world view opinion most generally will give an opinion that is self-serving and not necessarily in your best interest. Whereas, the Bible gives an opinion that is always in your best interest, though you may feel that it doesn't fulfill your immediate desires. It is not always in your best interest to do so.

It seems the general population is looking more and more to the government to solve their problems, be it health care, retirement, or to provide a financial safety net. It is our job to care for ourselves, not the governments. God tells that if we put his kingdom first he will see to it that we have what we need. Reading the Word of God not only arms us against the devil but prepares us for life. Stop looking to gain the material things of this world and try to gain the wisdom needed to survive and live well in this world independently. If you are dependent on government for day to day living they essentially control what you do. Simply by pulling back those purse strings they can and will expect you to compromise your beliefs to keep the money coming in. It is happening today right before our eyes. The government is asking the Christian to violate their beliefs to serve the secular world view. The only way to stop this insanity is to know how to care for ourselves in a Biblical manner. Look to God for your answers, not man nor government.

We should know by now there is no free lunch. But everyone wants easy answers; credit card companies thrive and get rich on this strategy. It is an instant answer but it costs us much more than if we simply waited until we had the money ourselves. The “right now” world we live in causes its own problems; instant gratification causes its own grief. It causes economic bubbles that break later causing economic recessions and depressions. The banker owns us and we are little more than his virtual slaves. We work to pay him, he sits in his office and watches everyone who owes money go to work and bring him their paycheck. We do it every day, week after week, month after month, year after year. When we finally get him paid off, he encourages us to buy more things or to borrow more money ensuring we become indebted once again. The Bible tells us that the borrower is the slave of the lender. Perhaps we don’t need so many things. Do you remember the parable of the talents? When the master returns and asks to see what you have done with what talents he has given to you what will you have to show him?

Have you ever been to a dump or landfill? It is totally indiscriminate about what arrives there, it doesn't matter the brand or the original cost, all things are equal and it eventually all ends up there. It’s quite sobering, to see what people throw away to make room for more things. Many of the items where in good shape and could have been given to the less fortunate. 

The waste we produce is astonishing. I can’t help but wonder what greater good the money spent on these things could have done had they been channeled to a charity or church. We should stop and ask ourselves if this is what God would want us to do with our money and old but still usable items?  Who is it really serving? Do we ever think about the day God will judge us? What could you do better?

I am sure we all could use a little improvement in this area. So before you make the next purchase ask yourself first, do you really need it or just want it? If you truly have a need purchase the item but if you really don’t need it, perhaps you could pass it up this time. Take the money and do something nice for someone who needs it more than yourself. It’s just something to think about.