A Carjacking that was foiled in a Northern Virginia Shopping Mall. It seems as if an elderly grandmother had been given a gun by her son in which to protect herself. On day after she did her shopping she returned to the car where she found four white males seated inside. She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at them at the top of her voice that she has a gun and knows how to use it: so get out of the car.
The four men hopped out and ran like mad, whereupon the lady proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and get into the drivers seat.
And there she discovered a small problem, her key wouldn’t fit the ignition. Upon inspection she realized that her car was identical and parked four or five spaces farther down. She loaded her bags into her car and drove to the police station.
The sergeant to whom she told the story nearly doubled over in laughter and then pointed to the other end of the counter, where four pale white males were reporting a carjacking by a mad elderly white woman.
Where does a penguin keep its money? (In a snow bank!)
Where do fish keep their money? (In a river-bank!)
Where can you always find money? (In the dictionary!)
When does it rain money? (When there's change in the weather!)
What has a hundred heads and a hundred tails? (One hundred pennies!)
Why did the woman go outside with her purse open? (Because she expected some change in the weather!)
It seems like any film which wishes to deal with the issue of money has to play a portion from Pink Floyd’s song on the subject:
Money, get away
Get a good job with more pay
And your O.K.
Money, it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands
And make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream
Think I'll buy me a football team
. . . .
I'm in the hi-fidelity
First class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear [private] jet
Money, it's a crime
Share it fairly
But don't take a slice of my pie
It seems that there were people in the early church with the same problems and challenges with money that we have today. Some were leaders in the church, actually teaching that the Gospel of Jesus is a way to get rich. Paul wanted to warn Timothy about this. He also wanted Timothy to warn rich people in the congregation that money is like a trap, and a godly person must not be caught in it.
3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Several years ago, US News and World Report did extensive research on money and its relationship with being happy. They discovered something very revealing concerning what people perceive as rich. The math is simple: you think a person who makes twice as much as you is rich. If you make 5,000 rupees a month, someone who makes 10,000 is rich. If you make 20,000, 40,000 is rich. If you make 40,000, someone who makes 80,000 is rich.
This reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend yesterday. He said his cousin goes to a church here in Bangalore where the pastor actually told the congregation he expected them to provide him with a salary of 80,000 rupees. I suppose for that pastor, 80,000 rupees a month would make him as rich as he wanted to be. Of course, if the congregation gives him that much, soon 160000 rupees a month will be much better.
WE ARE NEVER SATISFIED WITH HOW MUCH WE HAVE IF WE LOOK TO MONEY TO MAKE US HAPPY.
"It’s all relative. I sit down and say, ‘I’ve got $10 billion, but Bill Gates has $100 billion’; I feel like a complete failure in life" (Ted Turner: People 6/12/00 p. 62).
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
As always, the Bible tells us to avoid one thing, and points us to something better to take its place. Rather than pursuing money Paul exhorts Timothy to pursue eternal life. The world talks about “the life”. The Bible talks about a better life: “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called . . .”
A rich man who was determined to take his wealth with him (Russell 88). He told his wife to get all his money together, put it in a sack, and then hang the sack from the rafters in the attic. He said, "When my spirit is caught up to heaven, I’ll grab the sack on my way." Well he eventually died, and the woman raced to the attic, only to find the money still there. She said, "I knew I should’ve put the sack in the basement."
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Divya
Money will buy you a bed but not sleep. It will buy you books but not intelligence, food but not an appetite, a house but not a home, medicine but not health, amusement but not happiness, religion but not salvation--[money will buy you] a passport to anywhere . . . except to heaven anon.
William Boice:
"-- Dear Lord, I have been re-reading the record of the rich young ruler and his obviously wrong choice. But it has set me thinking. No matter how much wealth he had, he could not -
ride in a car, have any surgery, turn on a light, buy penicillin, hear a pipe organ, watch TV, wash dishes in running water, type a letter, mow a lawn, fly in an airplane, sleep on an innerspring mattress, or talk on the phone. If he was rich, then what am I?
The most toured home in America is the white house. But does anyone know where the second most toured home in America is?
The second most toured home in America is in Memphis Tennessee.
It’s the 23 room home of Elvis Presley.
Graceland is toured by hundreds of people every day. It is a combination of the home, an amusement park and an historic site. 15 million dollars a year is brought in by those visiting and looking at the cars, clothes, airplanes, records.
And few people in his time made as much money as quickly as he did. Certainly no one else had so much fame and popularity. Elvis seemed to have it all. money, airplanes, cars, mansions.
And if you go fifty yards from the back door of Graceland you find a tombstone. Aug. 16, 1977, 42 years old. An overdose of pills. Depression. He was so drugged in the last days of his life that he passed out while he was eating dinner alone and he nearly drown when his face fell in his bowl of soup.
. . . "I would give a million dollars for one day of peace." (from Pastor Ken Kursten-Feb 2003 message –Sermoncentral.com)
We live in a city that makes promises it cannot keep-if you get a good job in a good company and make good money and get a good house and a good car you’ll be happy. The Bible teaches if you have a good relationship with God you have none of those things and be truly happy.
