As I read from SImple Abundance this morning, the message I found was:
Don’t let money troubles depress you. Don’t let depression bring you down. Teach yourself to look on the bright side of life, and smile.
In 1 Timothy 6:6-12 discusses this very thing. Funny thing is, I looked it up to find that “money is the root of all evil” verse (verse 10 if you’re wondering) and instead found an entire passage very similar to Sarah’s reading today.
“But Godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contenment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plung men into ruin and destrucion. for the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the the faith and peirced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, preseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the prescence of many witnesses.1 Tim. 6:6-12 (NAS)
So… We were born with nothing, we can take nothing out of this world. Be content with food and covering – i read that as clothes and a roof “covering” your head. Boy… does that ever sound like FLYlady… Need and want are two very different things, and if we get rid of all the crap in our homes that is cluttering it up, not only will our homes look cleaner, we will feel better.
Don’t fall for get rich quick schemes, it’s only gonna lead to trouble. I do see that money is evil verse is usually very badly misquoted. It doesn’t say money is evil. It says the love of money leads to all sorts of evil. BIG DIFFERENCE! We all need money, to pay for the food and covering from the first verse. The problems come when you love moeny so much you all the pursuit of money to comsume you. I also see that even back in Bible times, money was a source of depression. “and some by longing for it have wandered away from the the faith and peirced themselves with many griefs.”
Instead of pursueing money, we ought to be pursueing God. Everything I read there – righteousness, godliness, faith, love, preseverance and gentleness – makes me believe that when I pursue God, that will bring me true happiness. That is where I will find my “authentic self” as Sarah puts it. Not the pursuit of scrapping fame, not the glory of motherhood….. but living a life of faith, love, godliness, righteousness, etc… that is where I will find true joy. I’ve confessed to my Lord, and accepted His forgivness for my sins. Now I need to reach and grab that everlasting life He has given me.
Wow. I mean seriously. I feel such a deep chill right now, and I’m not talking about the chill I’m getting from the back door being open. *S* I mean there is something I can’t quite put my finger on, starting to stir. Trust me, it’s not just the breeze blowing in through the door… I feel the winds of change begining…. This is gonna be an awesome year. *S*