How To Survive A Bad Economy
by Randy Robison
"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." (Matthew 6:19-21)
There’s a lot of talk about the economy these
days. The stock market is taking a beating, homes are being
foreclosed and the dollar is losing value. The news is full of doom
and gloom, so people are worried. Accusations of thievery and
mismanagement abound. But when the blame is set aside and the
financial intricacies are stripped away, what is the core issue?
Mark Punzo, a friend of the ministry who
works at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, recently
asked me, “What is something worth?”
It didn’t take me long to reply, “Whatever
somebody will pay for it.”
“So what are you worth?” he asked. I admit my
first thought went to life insurance actuary tables. My salary times
x number of years before I retire…
But I knew that wasn’t what he was driving
at, so I guessed, “Whatever someone will pay me?”
“Whatever someone will pay for you,”
he corrected. Then he asked a question that really bent my mind.
“What did God pay for you?”
Now I got it. God paid for me with His only
Son’s blood. It certainly wasn’t the first time I’d heard that
principle, but it was the first time I had heard it put that way. It
struck me hard. Is that really the value God places on me? Am I
worth the sacrifice of Jesus Christ? Why don’t I act like it?
“When God spoke that to me,” Mark continued,
“He then said, ‘Look at all the people around you. That’s what they
are worth to Me, too.’”
What incredible value! You, your loved ones,
your acquaintances and even the people you don’t know are by far the
most valuable things ever created, worth more than any company’s
stock, assets or investments.
So why is it that we seem to be more
concerned about our retirement plans than our relatives? Why do we
react to an economic crisis with more urgency than a spiritual
crisis? Do we really see the value in ourselves and in other people
that God sees?
I confess that I take people for granted. If
I spotted a $20 bill in the gutter, I’d stop to pick it up. But I
have passed right by a person lying in the gutter without any second
thoughts. I think perhaps my sense of value is askew. As a
“responsible” husband and father, I spend time laying up treasure on
earth for medical bills, college and (hopefully, some day)
retirement. But those things will all pass away. My daughter’s car
will eventually break down and rust, but her spirit is eternal. My
son’s braces will give him a nice smile for a while, but what kind
of man will he be when his teeth are falling out and his looks don’t
matter any more?
I have decided to not worry about the
economy. Good or bad, God is in control. I can only have one
response if I want to hold on to anything of value: invest in the
things in which God has invested.
You are worth what God paid for you. So is
your spouse, your child and your neighbor. If you want to be rich,
don’t look to your bank account. It will fail you. Look to the
people in your life and invest in them. Then you will be truly
prosperous, no matter what the economy does. And unlike the wealth
of this world, you can take it with you forever.
This Week
Don’t worry
about the economy; just make good investments. Deposit your time and
love into someone’s life.
Prayer
“Father, forgive
me for focusing on the temporal things of this earth. Help me to see
the value in people that You see and lay up treasure in heaven by
investing in them.” Amen
God Bless YOU!
Marion