( This series starts with: racism, pride, pro-life, debt,)
Welcome, the party theme is the second gilded age, rich get richer, poor get poorer, debauchery is the word of the day. It was back in Amosland:
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Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, "Bring us some drinks!"
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Costco just opened a branch near my house. This was my second Costco grand opening, a gargantuan dose of sensory overload. When you see a Costco cart completely loaded you have to wonder, really, you need all of this? We had just come back to a house that has been vacant for 7 months and between us only picked up about 20 items.
For me, as a cook, one measure of conspicuous consumption is letting food go bad in my fridge. Letting food go bad in a time people are going hungry. A fragment of a story in Luke, talks about reckless and squandrous living and wouldn't you know it, as the money left, the famine arrived.
If we are blessed to have more than we need or owe some week or month we don't have to run out and spend it all, every dime, every time. There is this idea of savings, if we try to invest wisely, (and according to the Bible bit, by bit), makes a lot of sense. You've heard the stores of the person that wins the lottery, but loses it all.
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Proverbs 13:11 Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.
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As voters we need to understand that this current party is paid for with borrowed funds. If a political candidate says I voted for tax reform so this prosperity party could exist does that qualify that person to govern? The current bull market either did, or did not, begin March 2009. It either is, or is not, the longest bull run in US history. But what goes up, must come down.
To one group in this country, it will be a correction, a natural event in investing, may have to skip the penthouse suite on the Carribbean cruise this year. To the rest, life just gets one step harder. And I suspect with the tariff mess, feeling the pinch in the pocketbook will come sooner than later.
If I am blessed with extra, I should save, but as a Christian, I should also give, sounds easy doesn't it? Have you ever given a gift and it worked out so badly you wish you just done a gift card? If so, come on over and we can share stories some day. Giving wisely is really hard these days, I've heard it all, from funding "Christian military organizations to Creflo Dollar and his jet.
The bottom line is that I am trying to avoid excessive consumption especially at the expense of others. I'm blessed, I know that I am, but I need to be mindful to save and invest when I can. I need to be willing to be generous with my time, talent and treasure.
The next post in this series is fear.