Thinking About What I NEED

A teaser headline that came up on my Facebook wall reminded me of a conversation I had the other day.

"The Beatles: Facts and Scandalous Trivia
You Need to Know"

Really?
If I don't know these things I might go hungry, or shiver in the cold, or my wife might leave me?  A friend and I were talking about this matter of need a few days ago.  He teaches Sunday School to a group of first-graders.  As the gift-a-copia of Christmas was on the near horizon, the topic of a recent lesson was, "What do we really need?" You probably have a pretty good idea. High on the list was the latest electronic gadget. I have more sypathy for those who "needed" a bike--at least it will cause them to exercise. On it goes. To get a lesson on 21st Century need--of course not to be confused with a word that rhymes and begins with "gr"--just watch one of the house hunter type "reality" TV shows. Two people need four bedrooms. How have so many of us survived so long without granite counter-tops? Just listen to the show; they are necessity. Listening to the house-shoppers, it is easy to see why kids in primary school have warped views of what they need. We have taught them well.

The Bible is not opposed to people having nice things, but when we come to think that we need them, we are well on our way to the things having us.  It's a form of idolatry.
This is Something to Think About, so I'd encourage you to think about it.  The following will give you some material for your thought-mill:

• Matthew 6:19-34
• Hebrews 13:5
• 1 Timothy 6:6-11
• "Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction." - Erich Fromm, Escape From Freedom

By the way, I didn't read the article about the Beatles. I don't need to know.
 

It's STTA.

Thoughts on preparing for Christmas, #3

Something To Think About, Christmas, #3 What do you want for Christmas?

I'm not exactly sure where the age tipping point is, but over the next couple of months two questions will be asked over and over.  To the older set, "Are you ready for Christmas?"  And to the younger, some variation of this query, "What do you want for Christmas?" The two questions are not unrelated because a lot of "being ready" involves being prepared to give the kids what they want, and you don't have to be very old to realize that all the activity going on among the adults has something to do with what the youngster will find under the tree on Christmas morning. One question has an element of entitlement to it, the other has plenty of room for obligation to take root.  If allowed to go to the extreme both are problematic. Christmas can very easily become an exercise in adults feeling obligated to give what they can't afford to children who have a growing sense that the world--in particular mom, dad, and grandparents--somehow owe them the latest, greatest, and most fashionable.  The whole thing is made worse when what is given isn't good for the one who is receiving.  It's an ugly symbiosis.   The syndrome is not isolated to the family realm.  Every time we use the self-contradictory sentence, "I have to give . . . ." we are involved in this Christmas error.  Likewise whenever we think--we seldom say it--"he/she owes me a gift." We put another log on this yuletide fire that ought to be extinguished.  If one were given the task of teaching people, especially children, to have an unhealthy feeling of entitlement, he would be hard pressed to come up with a better curriculum than our current Christmas celebration. Haven't we had just about enough?  You can take that question in a couple of profitable directions.  Adults aren't obligated, and kids aren't entitled.  Look in your garland-decorated mirror and tell yourself that.  Believe yourself.  Then go do something about that reality. The gift that we celebrate at Christmas, was given without obligation, to people who had no entitlement to it.  Let's allow that gift to set the standard for this year's Christmas. It's Something To Think About. We would love for you to make the Live Nativity a part of your Christmas Season.   Click the picture for more information.

We Are Playing With Funny-Money:

It should be becoming more and more plain that the money that we use every day, and that some of us are way too concerned about, is an ephemeral fiction. Even in its most substantial form—the bills and coins in our pockets—it is nearly useless in a practical sense. It wouldn’t burn long enough to keep us warm, you can use a dime or a quarter for a screwdriver, but it’s not a very good one, and, even for the basest use of paper, a dollar bill is rather small and stiff. Besides, most of the money we use doesn’t even exist in the physical realm. Add to those considerations the fact that our government—maybe even foreign leadership—can render our money useless in less time than it takes to make an online purchase, and the counsel of scripture has never made more sense.
Jesus classifies earthly riches, as that which moth, rust, and thieves can take away. Matthew 6:19-20) Paul links the word “riches” with uncertainty. (1 Timothy 6:17)
Both encourage putting our trust in that which will last, long beyond inflation, deflation, stagflation, and even decomposition.
It’s STTA.