Bible Money Matters » Commentary

Happy Easter! Why Did Jesus Fold The Napkin?

Peter Anderson — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 06:10:00 +0000

Happy Easter Everyone! Here’s a post from Easter 2008!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead… 1 Peter 1:3

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:8-11

God bless you on this holiest of days. He is risen!

Why Did Jesus Fold The Napkin???

An interesting email I received today:

Why Did Jesus Fold The Linen Burial Cloth After His Resurrection?

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.

1. Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

2. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!”

3. Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see.

4. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first.

5. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn’t go in.

6. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying to the side.

Is that important? Absolutely! Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished. Now if the master was done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, “I’m done”. But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because……

The folded napkin meant, “I’m coming back!”

He Is Coming Back!!!

A Sad Week At Our House. Saying Goodbye To Aunt Jan And Other Loved Ones

Peter Anderson — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:31:12 +0000

This past week has been a rough one at our house. It all started last week when we heard that my wife’s uncle had passed away. His passing wasn’t a huge surprise as he’d been struggling with a variety of illnesses over the past year or two, and had been going slowly downhill. He passed on Tuesday, and his funeral was scheduled for this past weekend. He was 73.

Just that alone would have been sad enough. But then on Friday we had another shock as my wife’s cousin passed away prematurely. She also had a history of some health problems, but hadn’t really had anything life threatening recently as far as we knew. She was only in her fifties, and she leaves behind a son who recently turned 25.

They always say that bad news comes in threes, and today we had confirmation of that old saying. We got the sad news that my aunt Jan, my mother’s sister, had passed away down in Illinois at the young age of 68. She also had health issues, but for the most part those problems were being managed – we certainly thought that there wasn’t anything that would be life threatening in the short term. But apparently there was.

Aunt Jan, We’ll Miss You

My aunt Jan had been heading out for the day today to see a local play that my cousin was directing. When they got to the show apparently my aunt started having problems breathing, and quickly lost consciousness. By the time they got her to the hospital her heartbeat was faint and she was no longer breathing on her own. She passed away shortly thereafter.

Aunt Jan’s passing leaves a big hole in our family. She was always such a cheery person, who always had a kind word or a warm chocolate chip cookie for us nephews and nieces.

Jan never married or had children of her own, but she truly did love children. She was a teacher her entire career, shaping and molding young minds in the Illinois schools. We could see that teacher’s no-nonsense attitude at times when we misbehaved, however, we knew she loved us.

She also was the kind of person who could make others feel special. She never forgot one of our birthdays. She would always send a card and a check in the mail. It will be strange not getting one on my birthday this year for the first time since I was a small child.

I remember doing crafts with her as a child, and eating all sorts of delicious food that she would make. She was a great cook.

Most of all I remember her laugh. She was always smiling and laughing, and having a good time with us kids, and the rest of the family.

I remember one night a few years ago all of the cousins were together at her lake home. We had gathered there to play games, talk and to just be together. Jan was there that night playing games right along with us, laughing and having a good time. I think that’s the picture I’ll keep in my head of her. Smiling, laughing and having good times with family and friends.

Jan was a strong Christian, always very involved at her church, in women’s groups and singing in the choir. I know tonight that she’s singing in God’s heavenly choir with my grandparents – as they did so often here on earth. Tonight, however, they’re singing in the presence of our heavenly father. Praise God!

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

We’ll miss you Aunt Jan, and we’ll never forget you, but we know that tonight you’re in a better place, singing to our savior.

Take Time To Stop And Appreciate What’s Right In Front Of You: The Anonymous Violinist

Peter Anderson — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:09:17 +0000

Writers of personal finance like myself quite often get into a mode where everything we write and talk about is done with a forward facing outlook. We write with the idea of making things better either in the next couple of years or 20, 30 or 40 years down the road. It’s always done with a future reference, often while making sacrifices right now in order to make things better later.

One thing I think we often forget to do, however, is to make sure that we appreciate the here and now, and be thankful for the things we have right now. If we aren’t thankful and appreciative, we can often miss the amazing things that we already have right in front of our face.

The Anonymous Violinist

This past week a friend shared an amazing story they had seen on Facebook that clearly demonstrated just how easy it is to not appreciate the extraordinary when it’s right in front of us. We can easily take things for granted, especially when we’re not focused on living in the present. This short version of the story came from that Facebook post:

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

As a violin player myself I can appreciate even more than some just how amazing Joshua Bell’s playing is. He plays with emotion and grace, and some of the pieces he plays in that subway are extremely difficult, even for a professional to play. He gave a virtuoso performance, but hardly anyone noticed.

We Miss The Extraordinary Because Of The Context

I love this story because it speaks to just how easy it is to miss the extraordinary things in our lives. We miss the important things for unimportant reasons. We get focused on our career, but don’t take time to focus on our family and spend time with them. We focus on saving for retirement, but never focus on having fun or focusing on the ones we love now. We save for our future, but avoid giving to help others now.

Many of those people who passed right by the virtuoso violinist in the subway are probably the same folks who may have paid for an expensive ticket to hear him play at the symphony. They weren’t expecting to see him there in that context, and as such they didn’t appreciate his playing. By the same token, far too often because we’re going through hard times we don’t recognize all of the blessings that God has given us in the midst of our troubles. Because of the context we can’t appreciate.

Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. 1 Chronicles 29:13

Appreciate And Be Thankful For The Here And Now

For me this story really stressed the importance of appreciating and being thankful for all of the extraordinary blessings that God has given me in the here and now, even in the midst of hard times. Focusing on and planning for the future is a good thing, but if it keeps you from seeing the wonderful and beautiful things around you right now, you will have lost.

For more a more detailed look at the story of the violinist in the subway (which won a Pulitzer prize for the writer at the Washington Post), click here. To see him play in another context, watch this video.

Here’s some video of the virtuoso violinist, Joshua Bell, playing his 3.5 million dollar violin in the subway that day for uninterested passerby:

What are your thoughts about this story? Tell us in the comments!

Merry Christmas To One And All: The Original Christmas Story

Peter Anderson — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:53:07 +0000

It can be easy to get caught up in all the commercialism that comes along with Christmas these days, and allow the focus of the day become more about us – instead of about Him (Jesus Christ). For me, one thing that always gets me back into the celebratory mood is a reading of the Christmas story. Jesus life is the greatest story ever told, and when you think about how it all started with his birth in extremely humble surroundings, it’s even more amazing.

So without further ado… here it is. The original Christmas story.

The Birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1-20

God bless and have a Merry Christmas!

Black Friday Madness: How I Almost Got Trampled At Walmart’s Black Friday Sale

Peter Anderson — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:07:26 +0000

At the last moment on Thanksgiving eve I decided that it would be a good idea to head over to my local Walmart store for their Black Friday sale. While a lot of the high impact Black Friday deals weren’t going live until midnight, there were some deals that were available at 10pm, and one of them was a video game that I had been thinking about getting. Instead of being on sale for $50 as it normally was it would be on sale for $15.

I figured that things would be pretty busy at the store, but given that a lot of the bigger deals didn’t go live for a couple more hours, I didn’t think it would be that bad. Boy was I wrong.

Lines Of Cars, Streams Of People And No Parking

Before I even got to the store I knew I was in for a spectacle. There was a line of cars coming off of the main highway, waiting to pull into the shopping center that held the Walmart, Sam’s Club, Best Buy and other stores. It was pure insanity. I had come in off of a back road and as such was able to pull directly into a parking lot. But there were no spots available. I had to circle around with other cars until someone else pulled out of their spot.

At that point I probably should have just gone home because I knew things were going to be crazy, but to be completely honest I had a morbid curiosity about what it would actually be like when I got inside the store.

I ended up having to walk a couple of blocks just to get to Walmart. There were constant streams of people walking to the store like me, it was almost like a strange pilgrimage as we all made our way towards the doors.

I Didn’t Know Walmart Could Fit That Many People

When I finally got up to the door and walked through I saw a scene like I never could have imagined. They had walkways roped off so you could actually walk in, but then it was wall to wall people as far as the eye could see. I tried to make my way towards the area where I knew the video games I wanted were, but there was no way that was going to happen. I just had to go with the flow of people and try to circle back around.

My wife had given me a couple of things to find at the sale as well, but I quickly realized that even though I had gotten there at 10:05pm, they were already gone.

I kept walking through the store and every so often there would be a plastic wrapped pallet with a long line of people waiting next to it – waiting for their $100 TV or $40 Blu-Ray player. Each pallet had a Walmart employee standing next to it, guarding it until the clock struck midnight. It was nearly impossible to make your way through the crowd.

In the end I took a few more quick videos, saw some good friends waiting in line (they actually bought a couple of the things I had been there to get and missed out on!), and escaped out the exit without buying anything.

Has The Consumerism And Greed Taken Over?

While I was walking through the store it occurred to me what a crazy scene this was. While most people were pretty nice to each other, people were pushing and jockeying for position around the most popular items. By all accounts people across the country weren’t all as well behaved. On one site today I saw a list of Black Friday stories that made me cringe:

Among the stories I saw were stories of shoppers macing each other, ladies punching each other to get articles of clothing, mayhem over cheap waffle makers, and gunfire erupting at one mall.

The question that comes to my mind is, has consumerism and greed overtaken so many of these people to the point where they’ve become violent and out of control?

In my opinion they would do well to heed the words of the Bible when it says:

Proverbs 28:25 A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper

The mindless greed that is on display is a little scary. We would do well to seek contentment in Christ, and to follow the example of Paul when he says,

1 Timothy 6:6-12 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that

Are a great deal on a TV or an article of clothing enough to get us to lose our ethics and morality?

Thanksgiving Day: Should It Be The Only Day We Give Thanks?

Peter Anderson — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:09:09 +0000

Thanksgiving is here again. It’s amazing how fast the years pass us by, and even more amazing just how much can happen all in one short year. This past year has seen us go through so many ups and downs at our house. We’ve had health issues, a rough pregnancy and the birth of our first son, a transition to parenthood, family crises, and so much more. Even though the year has been a stressful one, I know without a doubt that we have so much to be thankful for. My prayer is that I can be thankful every day this coming year, not just on Thanksgiving!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)

We Should Be Thankful In All Circumstances

As the verse above tells us, we should be joyful always, pray and give thanks in all circumstances. Why? Because it’s God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.

Why should we be thankful in all things? Because by being thankful we focus on the good things in or lives, and focus on our blessings that God has given us. By focusing on the good we have a better outlook on life, and we’re happier people!

I know first hand that it isn’t always easy to be thankful, especially when you’re in the midst of hard times. It’s so much easier to dwell on the misery and allow the negative to overwhelm. Looking back, however, I see that even the hard times have been used for so much good in our lives. I know this may sound a bit weird to some, but I’m so thankful for how God has used the hard times in our lives as well – taking negative situations and turning them for good.

Being Thankful Requires Discipline

I’ve found over the years that most things that are worthwhile will require some sort of discipline. Being thankful is one of those things that will sometimes require discipline – just like exercise, reading your bible or writing a blog post every day.

For me one thing that I’ve started doing is to start off all my prayer sessions first with words of praise and thanksgiving – before I jump into my list of “wants and needs”. More often than not by thanking God for all of his blessings, his saving grace and the positive things he’s doing in my life, by the time I get to my requests they don’t seem as important anymore!

Another thing I want to do this coming year is to thank Go for my blessings when I’m feeling down or upset. Again, feeling thankful can change your mood extremely quickly.

I Am Thankful Because I Know I Have Been Given More Than I Deserve

One of the reasons I am so thankful this Thanksgiving is because I know that God has seen fit to bestow so many more blessings on me than I deserve. I’ve got a wonderful and loving wife, a new baby boy, 2 wonderful extended families, loving friends, a church we love, a good job, a nice house, clothes to wear, more food than we could ever eat, and on and on. Just trying to list things out here makes me realize just how blessed we are. I could never list all of his lavish blessings!

What have I done to deserve these blessings? Not much. But God is a loving father who blesses those who follow Him, always giving them more than they deserve.

I Am Thankful Because I Know My Savior Has Redeemed Me

I am a sinner, as we all are, and I know that I haven’t done anything in this life that can earn my way to heaven. None of us is good enough to just get into heaven on our own merits. We need Jesus Christ.

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:22-24 NIV)

We have all sinned, and we all need Jesus Christ to save us by his gift of grace. We can’t do it on our own – we needed Jesus to die for our sins on the cross so that we might spend an eternity in heaven with him. That’s the ultimate gift to be thankful for!

Today I thank Jesus Christ for saving me from my sins, and giving me his gift of grace so that I might spend an eternity with him.

Do you want to receive that gift as well? It’s available to anyone who accepts Jesus Christ into their heart. If you want to ask him into your heart, and make your life whole, just pray this prayer. When you’re done, tell someone the good news (or tell me)!:

Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen

Happy Thanksgiving!

Learning Contentment Before Achieving Self Employment

John Frainee — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:13:56 +0000

I‘ve always wanted something different. Not the same old, same old. Something exciting!

I was a waiter but wanted to be a pastor.

I was a pizza delivery driver but wanted to be a counselor.

I was a lackluster movie suggester but wanted to be an online entrepreneur.

The things I have been doing haven’t always been the things I’ve wanted to do. But that discrepancy has taught me a lot about myself and my abilities.

The latest iteration of my pastor/counselor/online entrepreneur ambitions is becoming more fully realized in The Christian Dollar, but something always seems to hold me back . . . like money!

Don’t get me wrong. I make a good income. But not enough to jump from the dock to the boat – not enough to go full time online.

Finding Contentment Where You Are

This has led to a nagging dissatisfaction because I’m doing something I like, not something I love. Well, then again, I’m doing something I like part time and something I love part time. It’s just the perfect mix to foster a bit of restlessness.

Recently I’ve been reading through Genesis, and I found that many of God’s people worked a long time to get what they truly wanted. Take Joseph. He went through years of slavery before being recognized for his abilities. And what I’m going through is not slavery. It’s just a job that I like, not love.

It may take me another year, 5 years, or decade to get where I want to truly be in my career. So during that time I’m going to try something new: contentment.

Where To Find Contentment

It seems that the Lord allows us to go through trying times for a reason. He pushes us to be satisfied with what we have before he gives us something more. Have you noticed that?

Be content John. Be content.

A period of years is only a drop in the bucket on God’s timeline, and you can be content as well. I’ve learned a few good things about contentment that I’d love to share with you below:

Contentment is found in the search for the good qualities in people (like your managers).
Contentment is found in casual conversations while preforming the difficult task at hand.
Contentment is found in the humility of knowing you’re not perfect and never will be.
Contentment is found by the grace of God – people on their own can never be content.

At my current day job, I’ve been a counselor and a pastor. I’ve asked how people were really doing after they’ve given me the automatic “okay” answer and gotten a genuine response. My job isn’t to do these things, but I do them anyway. Why? Because I care and want people to have a different kind of experience when shopping. I want them to remember their humanity, remember that there is good in the world, and somehow change the course of their day.

My conviction is that you can find the same satisfaction in the everyday mundane. You can do things that make a real difference. You can be what you want to be wherever you are. This will lead to a great deal of contentment, more than you’ll be able to measure.

If you’re like me, seeking self employment and on the journey to find what you love to do, reach out to me. Maybe you’ve had some success you’d like to share. Or perhaps you need some guidance in the area of contentment in your life. Peter and I would be happy to respond to your comments below. We’ll meet you there!

The Downside Of Facebook: Facebook Envy

Melissa — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:37:24 +0000

Facebook is a great tool to keep up with family and friends, share pictures of your kids, ask for advice, keep others posted about what is happening in your life and learn what is happening in other people’s lives. I have some friends from college that I don’t talk to regularly, but I know what is happening in their lives through Facebook, so when I do have a chance to reconnect with them on the phone, it makes reconnecting easier.

Since its inception in 2006, Facebook users in the U.S. have grown to 116,010,760, or more than one third of the U.S. population of 309,003,000 according to Mashable Social Media.

Facebook: An Overly Positive Look At People’s Lives?

While Facebook has many positive aspects, there are also downsides, one of them being Facebook envy, a new phenomenon that leads to Facebook users feeling depressed or unhappy with their lives when they compare their own life to their friends and acquaintances’ lives as documented on Facebook. I learned about this early on.

I have a friend who lives several states away. I know that she has trouble with her husband; he works hard at his job, but when he is home, he often goes upstairs and spends hours on the computer. She misses spending time with him, as do her children. However, if I didn’t know her better, I might be envious of her life because when she posts on Facebook, she only writes about the positives in her life, and I even venture to say she makes things look more positive than they really are.

Early Show technology expert Katie Linendoll states, “Most of us tend to play up the positive aspects of our lives while excluding the negative. The result is that a Facebook profile never tells the whole story. And we end up comparing ourselves to a one-dimensional version of someone else’s life.” Because I know my friend so well, I know her life is not necessarily the ways she chooses to portray it on Facebook. Armed with this knowledge, I read all of my acquaintances’ posts with a bit of healthy skepticism.

Facebook Can Lead To Keeping Up With The Joneses

In addition to believing others have better relationships than you do, you may believe others have more fun and more money than you. In short, Facebook has become yet another way to compare yourself to others. It has become an electronic view into the lives of others that makes you want to keep up with the Joneses.

Psychologist Dr. David Swanson told CBS News, “What you put on display is how great your life is — the cars you drive, the vacations you go on. Nobody’s life is that perfect and so, whenever you start to compare your life to those images, you’re going to be depressed, because you’re going to feel like your life is lacking.”

If we are not careful, Facebook can lead us to spend more money, either to keep up with what are friends are doing or because we are depressed that we can’t keep up with what our friends are doing. The simple fact is that we almost never know exactly what is going on with other people. We don’t see behind closed doors; we don’t know exactly what their relationships are like. We don’t know if they have debt; we don’t know of their financial struggles. Perhaps instead of comparing ourselves to others, we should see Facebook for what it truly is—a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, and a way for our friends to reveal the way they wish their lives were, not necessarily the way they actually are.

Do You Really NEED it? Or Just Want It?

Peter Anderson — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:26:00 +0000

Do We Really Need That?

A while back my wife and I were talking about how we needed to get a new TV in our bedroom. It was 2009, and with the digital switchover happening that year, we had two options to consider. First we could buy a digital to analog converter box for about $10 after using our $40 government coupon. Second, we could buy a new digital TV for $400-500. After considering it we both decided we wanted that new TV, after all, we’ve earned it right?

We considered the expense over the next few weeks. We asked ourselves, “Do we really NEED to buy a new TV for our bedroom? Or do we just want to buy it out of a sense of entitlement?”.

We ended up not buying the new TV, and instead bought the $10 converter box. The TV works like new, and we saved ourselves a ton of money.

Entitlement Blurs The Line Between Wants And Needs

The whole experience got me thinking about the sense of entitlement people have in this country today. They want to be able to have everything their parents had, but at a younger age. They want the house, but without saving for a big down payment. They want the fancy car, and they sign up for a 5 year loan at 9% interest. They want the new TV, so they put it on the credit card.

In an article on bankrate.com psychotherapist Olivia Mellan talks about how people confuse needs with wants:

A lot of us in wealthy, overspending America are either born or raised with a tremendous sense of entitlement. We say to ourselves,”I work hard or, I work at a job I hate — at least I should be able to have a Starbucks coffee every day or eat out for lunch.” But of course, those are not needs, they’re wants. They’re pleasures.

Wants and pleasures turn into needs because we feel like we deserve it – even if sometimes we don’t deserve it or can’t afford it.

Having a standard of living beyond our income is almost expected these days. Spending has gone beyond the actual needs of food, water, shelter and clothing, and have expanded to include things like a cell phone, cable tv, bottled water, eating out every day and new furniture. The things people enjoy having become needs in their mind, and without them they don’t feel like they’re living to the fullest.

The better off we become financially, the more we realize that true happiness can never come from the things we own. Instead they come from faith, family, friends and through helping others. All other sources of happiness are fleeting at best, and corrupting at worst.

Are you aware of your wants and needs – and how the line has become blurred in your own life? My challenge to you is to keep close track of what you’re spending this month, and see just how much of your spending is on things you want, but don’t NEED.

Avoiding Impulse Spending On Things We Want

So how do you avoid impulse spending when you’re trying to save or pay down debt? Here are some ideas that I came up with, along with a few from MSN Smart Spending:

Implement a “touching and talking rule”: Either touch the item 3 times, or talk about it 3 times with a spouse or loved one before actually purchasing it. If you still can justify the expense after that, consider purchasing it if it will fit in your budget.
Wait it out: Wait a while before making a big purchase. Give yourself some time to mull over the decision before dishing out the big bucks. At our house we try to wait at least a month before buying something, and if we still consider it a good purchase, we’ll go ahead with it.
Don’t Buy it, Try it: Try borrowing the same or a similar item from a friend. Try it out and see if it is all you thought it would be. Chances are you may realize that you don’t need that Ipod as much as you thought you did.
Save up and pay cash: Save for the item you want and pay cash for it. By the time you have enough money you may realize you don’t want it anymore.
Ask yourself if you really need it: Ask yourself, “Do I really need this? If I get it, will my life be significantly improved? If I don’t get it, will my life be substantially diminished?”

When you think consciously about your purchasing decisions, and actually ask yourself if you NEED the things you buy, you’ll be well on your way towards living a less cluttered and more fulfilling life. You might even be able to save some money in the process!

Have you found yourself rationalizing your purchases by telling yourself that you “need” it? Tell us about it in the comments.

Why Do You Really Want To Be Rich?

Peter Anderson — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:22:24 +0000

When I look at the search results for this site it’s pretty common that people find themselves here when searching for phrases like, “how to get rich“, “how to make more money“, or “how to become a millionaire“. Judging by their searches, and the sheer volume of the number of those searches I’m beginning to think that there are a lot of people out there who want to become wealthy. Not surprising really.

The question is, what are their reasons for wanting to become rich? Have they actually thought out the proposition of being rich, and what it means? Why will they need all of that money?

They all start with this as the proposition:

I wanna be rich

So they start searching out high paying careers, ways for making money on the side, get rich quick schemes. In other words, finding ways to make as much money as they can as fast as they can. And that’s where I believe far too many stop. They don’t make any consideration of what the real reasons are of why they want to be rich. They just want to be rich. Period.

Why Do You Want To Be Rich?

So if you want to become rich, why is it that you want to become wealthy? Do you want to enjoy the finer things in life? Do you want to travel to far off lands? Do you want to be able to help others with your wealth?

Thinking about why you want to be wealthy is an important exercise, and if you don’t, you can easily get lost in a meaningless circular pursuit of wealth, where nothing, and no amount of money ever satisfies.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.

For me, as a Christian, I think it’s also important to remember that we need to be careful of pursuing wealth and other material things as part of our long term goals. When we do those things can quickly become counterfeit gods and idols in our lives, keeping us from focusing on the things that are truly important like a relationship with Christ. Can a rich man still enter the Kingdom of God? I believe so, but it can be hard when wealth competes with a reliance on God.

Are Riches In Themselves A Bad Goal?

For far too many I think that being rich in and of itself is the end goal. Being rich is the ultimate in status that will allow them to “be someone”. They believe that wealth validates them, will make them popular, and in the end make them happy. It is the universal score card. But then, when they finally do become wealthy they realize that it comes with a whole new set of problems and pressures – and doesn’t make them happy. Far too often the riches are just temporary anyway, as we’ve seen recently in the economic downturn.

Proverbs 23:4-5 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

Money is just a thing, a tool to be used to further our goals. Being happy is a decision that happens regardless of whether you’re rich or not.

So what are your goals?

Setting Goals And Expectations For Wealth

For me, I don’t have any aspiration to be rich or to be living a gaudy lifestyle, but I do hope to be a good steward of the resources I’m given, and to provide well for my family. I want to be able to provide a good home for my family, an education for my kids, and I want to be able to travel and experience different places and cultures. I also want to be able to earn more to be able to give more to our church, as well as to other causes that we believe in. I also want to be able to work because I enjoy it, not because I have to – or because I’m worried about eating, getting health care coverage or losing my home.

So my goals for earning wealth would be:

To provide for my family.
To give more to our church and other causes.
To provide freedom and peace of mind.
To give us ability to enjoy travel and family time.

So, with my goals for wealth put out there, tell me why you might want to grow wealth, and what your goals for wealth are?