Ever since reading in Matthew 6 that you cannot serve both God and Money, I’ve been uncomfortably trying to let go of my desire for things (electronic things usually high on that list), money, etc. It’s something that we see everywhere, and it’s preached as the most natural, “right” thing to do: worry about how much money you’ll have at retirement. Buy a new car. And a new truck. And a new SUV (which, of course, has to be a Lexus). Just today I saw that Best Buy Ad: “I commit to…[having the nicest stuff]“

It’s really pathetic, actually. Whatever happened to committing your life to Christ? Denying yourself?!? The first and foremost concerns that the world teaches us to look out for are ourselves (gotta have things, gotta have prestige, gotta have money) and our futures. Those are the last things Christ commands us to worry about. (Actually, he tells us not to worry about them at all). Now, yes, we should be shrewd and faithful with what we’ve been entrusted with, but our concern should be on glorifying God, and on spreading the good news of Christ.

The saddest thing, perhaps, is just how much money this country spends trying to convince ourselves that we haven’t yet arrived, that there’s still one more thing we need to buy. And if you can’t afford it, just write yourself a check that creates an instant loan on your credit card (for an immediate fee of 3%, plus interest).

And then you go to church and the preacher tells you that this is what God wants for you, and if you’re not successful monetarily, you need to pray more and have more faith and not burden yourself with negativity.

(Now watch as I dutifully paste in my AdWords links…)