Am I really that awful?

Do I have something that needs to be confessed here?  Have I ignored the poor, the hungry, the homeless?  Am I living in luxury and pretending the poor don't exist?

I don't know.  Only you and God can have that discussion, but it is a discussion well worth having.  Where does Jesus show up in your checkbook?  your bank statement?  the walking around money you spend each week?  Is my money my money for my pleasure and not God's tool to help mend the world?

The rich man knew Lazarus' name, knew he lived right outside his gate, and ignored him until they both died.  The consequences of the rich man's actions were eternal - Lazarus sat with Father Abraham and the rich man sat in torment.  It was a complete reversal of how it had been.

But it doesn't say we must continue to act this way.  We can hear this word and examine our lives and walk in a new direction, listening for God's guidance and trusting in God's presence in our journey.  In matters large and small we are called by God to care for the poor, to be a part of the healing of the world.  Today you can act differently than yesterday....we have the power to re-write the ending of the Lazarus story.

Today is a good day to begin.

Don't preach to me about money

I've thought that.  Have you thought that? For 3 weeks we will hear Jesus teach about what we should do with our money, how it can drag us down spiritually, how it makes a difference eternally, and we want to say, "Don't preach to me about money."

Don't make me feel guilty.  Don't tell me that it will all work out OK when I'm worrying about getting through the month.  Don't compare me with people living in Bangladesh.  If I lived in Bangladesh, I wouldn't drive to work and pay $3.70 a gallon for gas.

Of course I should feed the hungry.  Most of the time, 'the hungry' are sitting at my dinner table.  Of course I should help provide clean water for our global neighbors who have none.  I'm trying to keep my water bill manageable with 3 teens taking showers.

Of course I should help build a pre-school in Zambia; in the meantime I trying to figure out how my kids will afford college.  And don't talk to me about retirement....who's going to retire?

I know that all of this is true.  Finances will stress a relationship faster than almost anything else.  So how do we find a path - a path that is faithful to Jesus - in the midst of God's concern for the poor and the aching feeling that I'm on the verge of being 'the poor'?

Because we want to be faithful to Jesus!  Jesus' love for me is at the center of my life, my sense of worthiness, my ability to forgive others.  How can I faithfully use the money that God has entrusted to me for the sake of the whole world - including my family?

There is no simple answer to these questions but there are a couple of places we can begin the conversation. We will look at having some knowledgeable people teach about budgeting, saving, investing and sharing our money.  Some folks will learn how much that fancy coffee each morning costs them in a year and decide to give it up for another purpose.  Some folks will learn that they are doing all they can.  Watch for news about this.

But there are also spiritual exercises which will help us too.  When we re-focus on giving thanks - always watching for places, times, people, events we can give thanks for - the pressure of 'not enough' begins to recede.  Giving thanks gives us relief from the terrible 'not enough' pressure.

Timothy tells us that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.  Not having what we think is enough money can be the greatest temptation we will ever face.  Let's figure out how to do this together as a community of faith.