dec 17

Ecclesiastes 5:10-14
10 Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!
11 The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!
12 People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.
13 There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver.
14 Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children.

What would you think of a Texas billionaire who evicts his own mother from her two-room apartment in one of his many apartment buildings because she was three weeks late on her three-hundred-dollar rent payment? a preschooler who takes twelve cupcakes to his preschool classroom on his birthday and insists on eating every one himself? the owner of the largest cattle ranch in Oklahoma, who is found guilty of stealing cows from an adjoining ranch? the girl who has sung a solo in the church Christmas program for the last three years and throws a temper tantrum because someone else was asked to sing the solo this year? the kid who has been playing the Savage Conquest video game for three and a half hours-nonstop-and won't give anyone else a chance to play? If you could think of one word that characterizes each of those people, would it be cool? pleasant? likable? admirable? How about greedy? Or stingy? That's it, isn't it? The people mentioned above aren't very pleasant, likable, or admirable at all, are they? Why? Because they're greedy or stingy. Greed can be pretty unattractive and irritating. It's also wrong. Perhaps the main reason why most people dislike or disapprove of the behavior mentioned above is because it's wrong. What would be the right behavior? Generosity! "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35, NIV). Greed or miserliness is wrong; generosity is right. Most people seem to know that instinctively. That's why Scrooge is such a despicable character at the beginning of Dickens's A Christmas Carol. That's why Michael Douglass's character in the movie Wall Street was so outrageous. That's why the Grinch is such "a mean one" in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Because greed is not only unattractive, it's wrong.

REFLECT: Do you think greed is OK for some people, or is it wrong for everyone? Is generosity right for everyone? Do you think you need to be more generous?

ACT: Rent one of the following movies (with your parents' permission) and watch it with your family. As you're watching it, think about how the movie depicts the vice (wrong choice) of greed and the virtue (right choice) of generosity: A Christmas Carol (starring George C. Scott), A Simple Twist of Fate (starring Steve Martin), Greedy (with Michael J. Fox), or The Brothers Karamazov.

PRAY: "Lord, you are so generous, offering your love and your salvation to the whole world including me! Give me the desire to be generous, too."

10 "Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!"

That verse is pretty much the same thing as the quote "Money can't buy happiness!"
I think there's two types of rich.
The first is those people who want to save their money, so they are super greedy and don't share any of it.
The second type is those who are so rich, they don't care what they are spending it on as long as it is for their own pleasure.

Whether it is the first type or second type of rich, they both lead to being greedy and stingy. They only care about themselves and what they can own or enjoy.

If God gave you all this money and luxuries, shouldn't you be helping those who don't have as much as you do? Especially since it is the month of Christmas!
This also reminded me of Pastor Daniel's sermon! Where we should be giving until it hurts! We're giving God a portion of what he gave us! If God sees that you truly have a heart of giving, then he'll give you much more, to do better things!

You hear this a lot but happiness is not found in money and greed.
We hear something like this quite often, but not much people are still aware of this.
Sometimes desire takes over us and controls our behaviour. Attention and satisfaction is what most people aim for. You will never be satisfied with a greedy heart. Having "everything in the world" is not going to keep you happy for long, but giving and helping others keeps you happy for a long time. God is happy, others are happy, and you will be as well.

"give to the point where it hurts!"

Dangit, this relates a lot to a devotional I was going to share later, but seeing as how we're going to be using the Leadership Axiom books from now on for our devotions on sundays, meh. I'll just share it now.

So basically, the two (bible reading and the reflection passage) sort of link back to the story of how Jesus took the basket of fish and bread, and when he broke it, the people he led had more leftovers than they began with. And I think that specific story can also be taken as metaphors linking to "daily bread". Sharing the body of Christ with others, under the idea of communism, spreads the Holy Spirit throughout the peoples, and in return, there is more of the Holy Spirit than we started off with. If I'm correct, I'm pretty sure that communism was the idea that all things are common property. Basically, what's mine is ours and whats yours is ours.

Simply put, the Holy Spirit is like the bread and fish God had passed out to his people. We pass out what little we have, and GOD provides us with more than we started off with. It encourages the idea of sharing the things you own to become "richer in spirit"!

This is james devo, his internet is down

I strongly believe that "nobody is above the law." That being said, greed is definitely wrong for everyone. 10 percent of our annual income is requested and that would justify the fact that it doesn't matter how rich or poor you are, greed may exist among anyone. From an offering of $5 or $20, God sees the effort being brought from the offering. I remember, pastor Dan gave a sermon about giving until it hurts. For me, I think of the term about how a mouse would want a glass of milk with a cookie. There's nothing that could satisfy it completely, but we must have that initial self control to be grateful, being appreciative of what God gives us. And only through him, we can give as well, just as he gave his one and only son for us.

ooo money $$
Often a huge goal in my life I would say
People will ask me, what do I want to go into?
I will say a business related job because I want to be financially secure
OF course it may not be a secure job at all but I don't typically know what job i would be PASSIONATE about
All I know is, I don't want money to be a stressor in my life when I'm older.
But looking past all that, Deep down, even if we don't have money, God is all we need.
Of course easier said than done..
I don't know. I hope i won't be too consumed about the thought of money
I really do hope so.

Sorry I didnt post last night, i was in baltimore visiting the family.

I think what is misunderstood sometimes is that we may get the feeling that God hates money. The concern is that money is an easy thing to idolize. Though some may say money cannot buy happiness, I think they should have used 'joy' instead. Money can definitely buy happiness, but never joy. For example, getting a new laptop will make someone happy, but getting a new car requires money. This goes for almost every material good. But on the other hand, we can't feel feel pure joy until we make Jesus the centerpiece of our lives. So avoid making money the main object of your life and shift the focus to God and the joy he provides.

10 Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!

You know, I never really thought money was such a big deal...
Until I started working. Working taught me about the value of money in our present society and often times, I find myself wishing I had more money so I won't have to worry about it.
So, I wouldn't really say I love money, but I do worry about it!

But it's true and I find myself repeating this to many people, you don't need money to have fun. It might be harder to focus on being happy if you're stuck trying to make enough money to live but you can always be happy without money.
Or else, how would the less fortunate people live lives full of happiness and fulfillment?

Naw meaaaan?

10 Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!

This verse stood out to me. Money cannot buy us happiness. a lot of people want more instead of being thankful for what they already have. Being wealthy isnt the best thing because of the fact that to become wealthy you want more all the time. Money is like a bottomless cup. no matter how many times u fill it up, you will ALWAYS want more of it. never enough