August 19th, 2010
Some of you may have heard/read/stumbled upon/gotten wind of/involuntarily acquired the news that the U.S. government has released figures of current joblessness in our country now hitting above 500,000. And these figures do not include people whose benefits have run out but are still jobless, the homeless, or the people who never filed a jobless claim.
News of a “double dip” recession floods our ears and eyes. Personally, I disagree that the first one was ever over. But I’m not a politically savvy individual, nor do I intend to be. I have a different agenda to push in this post.
I couldn’t help but think about the six degrees of separation phenomenon (what is that?). I have found this to be fascinatingly accurate. But it means that most of us know or are about to know some jobless people. I’m speaking of those who have no job due to circumstances outside of their control.
My dad said something on the phone to me not too long ago, concerning our economy; “I think we’re all going to have to just learn to live with less.” I think he’s right.
My generation and younger (maybe even the generation older than me) has been shown a country of “have”. We grew up knowing how to have (have=get a credit card), and we grew up having. I know I did. And you didn’t have to grow up wealthy to be a haver… In the U.S.A. it’s true for most of us. The government’s answer to not having has been consistently “go into more debt.” Once again, I don’t mean to make politics the focus. I have no idea what will fix the mess, but I don’t think that’s a false statement about the government. It’s just a fact. Having and going into debt to have is the model we have been shown.
Now, I’m not one of those, “How could you spend $3 on a cheeseburger, you heartless person, when you know that there are starving children in Africa?!” I can because that’s what it costs to get a decent cheeseburger. Our cost of living is much higher than that of Africa’s. But I do think that looking at poverty-stricken countries is a great way to refocus our minds on just exactly what we do and don’t need. So, my question would be, “Does having money (or the ability to borrow it) equate to higher needs?”
In “Total Money Makeover” Dave Ramsey mentions a luxury car (I think it was a Jaguar, perhaps) that he owned and had to make the tough decision to sell and downgrade. Later, he was able to buy a near identical car because he had actually earned the money to do so. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that because you can’t draw a line on car price or square footage amount or meal price, etc. If you ask the question, “How much is too much?” and then try to answer it with a physical limitation, you just became a legalist. But I think you can raise the question, “At what point during his money-making did he decide that the Jaguar was better than a Maxima or a Maxima better than a Corolla or a Corolla better than a Cavalier (two points to me for the automobile hierarchy 
)? Once again, you simply cannot draw a line at one or the other, but you can question your motives…
BINGO! Motives: Ah, what a difficult, non-physical way of answering the “how to have less/how much is too much” quandary! Whether you do or don’t have the money, you aren’t going to lose your salvation over the choice of a Jaguar versus a Corolla. But you do have a moral obligation as a Christian to check your motives deep within. And, yes, I can actually think of a couple of reasons a person might actually need a luxury car. All I’m saying is that you have to ask yourself what those reasons are in every decision and learn the differences between needs/wants and can wait for cash/cannot wait for cash.
Paul taught us that “all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial.” How many people could we benefit (including ourselves) if we could just get ourselves to inwardly separate the needs from the wants? Are we even capable of the distinction anymore, or are we too far gone?
May God grant all of us the vision and desire of a Christ-like life, where our decisions are based on what will bring Him glory and not what will bring ourselves glory.
Your bro in Christ,
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P.S. I am determined to one day write a short post… It is very difficult for me. lol
P.S.S. I meant no judgment call towards Dave Ramsey. I like the guy, and “Total Money Makeover” really is a great book. Highly recommended.