fried nutter butters and a really big ferris wheel

unless you literally just crawled out from under a rock you should be aware of the financial issues that we are facing both here in America and around the world. if you listen closely you will find people on both ends of the spectrum as to the depth and gravity of the situation. many remind me of henny penny.....the sky is falling! others want to hide their heads in the sand and act like it is nothing more than a really bad case of the hiccups....distressful but not likely to last very long.

i really don't know what to think. on the one hand i believe we are facing some really interesting/difficult times that we won't soon forget. however, i also think it is going to force us, as americans, to become more fiscally responsible. i love politics but at the end of the day i don't think we are in the predicament as a result of democratic, republican or independent policies. i think we are in this predicament because we haven't been good stewards of our resources and managed our wealth the way God teaches us in His word to manage money.

although i won't go into all the details here suffice it to say that the scripture has a great deal to say about how to steward the resources He has entrusted to us. i don't expect unbeliever's to be wise with their money but we christians MUST! A few things to consider:

• how we manage our money affects what is entrusted to us spiritually. Luke 16:11
• it's not our money in the first place. Psalm 24:1
• the borrower is slave to the lender (and we are to be slaves only to Christ) Proverbs 22:7
• our resources should be used to serve others. Acts 20:35

These are just a few verses that i have been thinking about lately. something is stirring my spirit in this area. the bottom line for believers is simple: we have to do a better job of stewarding God's resources. that's it. no excuses. no buts. no situational exceptions.

in an effort to live out my convictions i've started taking my lunch to work. i figured it up and the amount of money i was literally flushing down the toilet (don't mean to be crude but do wish to make a point) simply wasn't acceptable when there are so many in need around me.

i don't know where it is that God may want you to tighten up your spending but i would guess that there is at least one indulgent area that He might bring to mind.

p.s. i was reading the paper this morning and my belief that our situation has less to do with the amount of money we have and more with how we steward it was affirmed. there was an article, just a few pages away from articles outlining our grim financial future, that reported $28.6 million dollars was spent at the state fair of texas on food and rides! notice that number doesn't include the $10/car parking fee or general admission fee of $14/person. almost $30 million dollars was spent on fried foods and thrill rides. we have the money....we just don't direct it to things that really matter.