Later...Taylor :-)
You know this is a zero sum game. And none of us are getting out alive either. We brought nothing into this world and we take nothing out. All we really have is what we are born with and the relationships we develop through the years. I guess the news of Tim Russert's death has got me thinking this afternoon? The first report I saw said he died at work. He had recently returned from a trip to Italy celebrating his son's graduation from college. He was 58.
Died at work? Who wants to do that? I hope I'm not at work when my time ends in this world; unless I've just finished preaching, but I don't want to fall over dead in front of the congregation. That would be bad :-( maybe scarring for young children in the crowd. But if I finished up a really good sermon, made my way home to retire for the evening, then had a heart attack (like Russert), I would be okay with that. It has a certain ring of completion to it, right?
Enough about dying. Let's think about living. A report out this week said inflation rose .6% last month, the largest jump of the year. Most of the increase was due to soaring gas and food prices. And just who does that hurt the most? The little guys; the moms and dads working forty hour weeks (and maybe a side job too) to pay the bills. The cost of living went up a bit over half of one percent. It doesn't sound like much, but did your income go up .6%? Month after month of this pattern is putting the squeeze on families. I hear it regularly within the circles I move. Families that didn't worry about gas, bread, and milk are now looking for ways to tighten their budget.
Which brings me back to my original point: this is a zero sum game. It's just money. Either you spend it on something or someone else will. Think about it, everything you call your own will one day belong to someone else. I think you and I would benefit by living as though none of "this" was ours anyway.
Can we ever find a way to give up this façade of control? Can we ever live like stewards and not masters? Will we ever get it through our heads that we are the made not the maker?
It would help. Maybe then we could weather wealth and want equally?
1 comment:
Interesting point. Especially about Tim Russert dieing at work. I was actually a Russert fan after reading his book about his father and sequal to the book including the letters from fathers.
Made me think about what kind of father am I and am I doing the things that truly make investments. Because one day it will all be gone. The memory of Bill will long fade, but my memory can live on in the lives of others, especially my daughter!
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