Wealth, Greed, Happiness?

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:24

As I was working on making bathing suits for my girls this morning, it was quiet and I could think. When I'm engrossed in something, I typically have my "talks with God". What has been on my mind lately are the now infamous Jon & Kate (plus 8 unwilling participants). Obviously there are many takes on the seemingly sudden demise of their marriage. The truth probably lies buried amongst the rubble so I won't speculate or pass judgement. The media is reporting staggering earnings per episode and even more staggering are the free goods and services that the couple have recieved. I do believe the Lord provides and they were struggling in the beginning with 6 newborns. The question is did they turn a blind eye to the provider?

That leads to my next question, can you be wealthy and happy? Can you be wealthy and continue to follow God? Isn't it true though that we would all like to try being wealthy. Even King Solomon, in all his God given wisdom, was blinded by wealth and women. The rules God gave him were simple and he still disobeyed. Solomon had it all, peace in Israel, wisdom, wealth, family, a palace, and a legacy for his family and he ruined it for his heirs. Why are we so blinded by worldly possessions? There have been so many examples of this in the news lately...the executives at AIG, Bernie Madoff, Wall Street, etc.

We cannot serve both God and money. Maybe it is because the poor are never completely comfortable and the wealthy become complacent that lack of money leads to greater faith. If you do not have money, your faith gets you through the next meal and you are thankful for it. The wealthier the man, the less he attributes his successes to God. The more we have, the more we grumble about the little things that we do not have. For instance, I have a nice house in a fabulous location. It is not a mansion but it is not a starter home either. Rather than focus on the fact that I have a great house, I focus on the things that are wrong with my great house like the peeling wallpaper, the broken cooktop, the sinking sunroom with the wavy ceiling, the weather worn deck, the broken tub in the master bath, and all the things that annoy me daily. All those things are minor and I should be thankful that I have a house at all. I do believe that God answers prayers and the minor annoyances will be fixed when the time is right. What would I complain about if they were fixed? I bet I will complain about something else though.

Times are tight but happy days are coming again. We just need to make sure we acknowledge who is in charge. Hint: It is not us!