I had a friend who, when he felt that he needed to regain control of the conversation, used to say: “All generalizations are false.” I just never could bring myself to ask, “Does that include that one?” The wise-guy who came up with that ditty must have been cousin to the guy who said, “Statistics can be right or wrong 50% of the time.” One statistic that has hung around for a while says: “Fifty-eight percent of people have less than $1000 saved. Personally, I would have thought that figure to be a little too low. If you included all debt in that equation, I think it would be as much as 90%. A lot of people are going into their retirement years with a lot less in the bank because they are helping with the financial setbacks of their children—bless them. The Bible’s attitudes towards money covers a broad spectrum. Abraham was very wealthy—Jesus parents were very poor. The Proverbs encourages exacting prudence—Jesus put a pilferer in as his treasurer. Paul tells the Corinthian church that they need to support preachers—he wouldn’t take a cent from them. James told the rich that God will judge them for ripping off their workers—Paul told the Corinthians that it was better to drop a matter and be ripped off than to take dishonest brethren to court. I know there are broader stories behind all of these, but you get the point. Money, though it surrounds the Christian, is never the Christian’s focus. When money furthers the gospel, it is a blessing. When it distracts us from that end, it is a curse. Life is short. Great prayer and care must be applied to the question: “How much is enough?” If we do not ponder that question, we will succumb to the blight of our age—meaningless and wasteful hording. Jesus’ life was meaningful, focused, simple and uncluttered. He got the job done 100% of the time.
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