A Word for Workaholics

An Admonition to Workaholics - Here’s a good word from for those of us who are prone to work too hard and too long.

A History of Phone Etiquette

A History of Phone Etiquette - It is interesting to peer back into history a little bit to see how telephone etiquette took time to develop. That’s something to think about next time you’re on a bus and someone is yacking (very loudly) into his cell phone.

Overcoming Conspicuous Consumption

The article, originating from the New York Times reads: "Conspicuous consumption has been an object of fascination going back at least as far as 1899, when the economist Thorstein Veblen published "The Theory of the Leisure Class," a book that analyzed, in part, how people spent their money in order to demonstrate their social status." Are we slaves to our love of stuff?

The author explores the question, "Do you have to be overwhelmed by debt and have all that stuff to be happy?" It has interesting ideas and examples. Jesus said it best, "Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15, NIV).

A Prayer About Enjoyment and Generosity

Scotty Smith writes out prayers he prays on a variety of subjects. This one was timely in uncertain economic times.

How Much Land Does a Man Need

Last Sunday I shortened the sermon (always something that endears me to the congregation) by leavning out the following story. It's a good one though, so I share it hear.

Leo Tolstoy, the Russian novelist, wrote a short story entitled “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” It tells of a man who was never satisfied with what he had. He decided that owning land would be the only way he would be really happy…yet he was not satisfied as he acquired more and more. One day he heard about an opportunity which would give him the opportunity to obtain as much land as he can encircle by walking during the course of one day for only 1000 rubles. The only condition is that he had to return to where he started by sundown.

The man starts out early in the morning, and as he gets further and further out, his eyes catch more and more good land. So he keeps on going. It is only when the day is more than half over, that he realizes he'd better make a turn and head back to the beginning - because if he doesn't fully encircle the land, then he gets nothing.

The afternoon wears on and by the end the man is running. Fear gripped him. In his greed, he feared he might lose it all. The finish line is in sight, and the sun is setting. He tries to run faster, but his body is exhausted. Finally, with his last ounce of strength, one moment before sunset, he lunges to the finish line. At which point he collapses and dies.

The story ends with the question of the title, “How much land does a man need?” In this case, only a plot six feet long and three feet wide and four feet deep…just enough to bury him.

Where Your Treasure Is

A story about a 104 year old heiress began to make headlines this week. She has been recluse for decades and has multiple multi-million dollar properties, some of which she has never even visited. She inherited her fortune from her father, a former senator from Montana. The story goes that when her mother died, she withdrew and it seems she lost her will to enjoy life. One of her statements is particularly interesting. She reportedly told friends that wealth was a "menace to happiness".

According to the Bible, there is nothing wrong with having wealth and great possessions. Some of the most prominent people in the Bible were quite weathly by ancient as well as modern standards. The Bible does warn that there are dangers to be found in possessing wealth and it gives a great deal of advice on how to keep our wealth  and possessions from possessing us. Here are just a few verses:

Revelation 3:17 “You say, ‘I am rich, with everything I want; I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that spiritually you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

Mark 8:36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

Luke 12:15 (Jesus said) “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Ecclesiastes 5:11 The more you have, the more you spend, right up to the limits of your income. So what is the advantage of wealth-- except perhaps to watch it as it runs through your fingers!

1 Timothy 6:10 The love of money is the first step toward all kinds of sin. Some people have even turned away from God because of their love for it, and as a result have pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Galatians 6:7 If (a person) sows to please his own wrong desires, he will be planting seeds of evil and he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death.

Matthew 6::19-20: Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.

Holy Complications

This was a good word from pastor Mark Batterson. It's a short article but this will give you a taste:

Sin will complicate your life in unholy ways. The blessings of God will complicate your life in holy ways. But it's still a complication. When I got married it complicated my life. Praise God for complications!