Are You Throwing Good Money Away?

You know there are a few things in life that you will never forget. One thing that I will never forget is the first car that I bought with my own money. It was a Chevy, don't ask me why but for some reason I was in enamored with that car. I liked the grip the steering wheel, the seats were totally comfortable and most of all it was in my price range. I remember when I first got that car I took care of it, it was my most prized possession. Overtime though being young I did work hard to push it to it's limits.  Not wanting to part with my prized possession, I started dumping money into it. Needless to say it was a lost cause, and before long I had to part with that dear beauty. At the end it had gotten to the point where it seems like no matter how much money I invested in the car, it was never enough to keep it going.

Life it seems is very similar. 

One of the beautiful things about this life is all the different people we get to meet. Some people I have met have been very true to me. Others I have met, not so dependable. As a young adult one of the first things you need to learn is how to notice who your true friends are. Building a relationship is not an inexpensive matter. Sure you may spend some money spending time with someone, but what is more costly is your compassion, your love on those you hold dear. While I have always realized that money is important I have never put too much stock in currency. To me money comes and goes and is really irrelevant. For those that are wondering I do save for retirement and I do like nice things, but I hold relationships much more dear than any amount of money or coin that might be floating around in my pocket or bank account. 

Money can't buy happiness, we have all heard this, true money can buy you choices but it truly cannot buy you happiness. I have been dirt poor and I've had a lot of money. The only difference between those two life situations were the type people that surrounded me. If you have a lot of money and are surrounded by people who love and truly care about you life is great. If you have a lot of money and you're surrounded by people who are just trying to get things from you and are trying to steal from you it is horrible, empty and cold. If you are dirt poor and you were surrounded by people who do not care about you it is just as horrible, empty and cold. However if you are dirt poor and you were surrounded by people who truly care about you and you feel like a king.  

Thing is you have to realize who you are, what's going on and what's important.

People talk about money a lot. What I find is truly valuable now is time. Anymore I try to focus really hard on how I spend my time. I have given up, to some degree, spending my time chasing riches. I have given up spending time chasing empty pleasures. My number one priority at this point my life is spending my time with God. When I pray to God I find peace. I find that the more time I spend developing a deeper relationship with my God the happier I am. I find the more time I invest in reading the Gospels and the other books of the Bible the stronger my interpersonal relationships on this earth are. I find that the more I donate to worthy causes the happier I am. It's like its Christmas Day all over again and I get that same thrill watching those I love open the gifts I got them. I find that the more I pray and meditate the more peaceful and serene I become. 

No longer do I chase fast cars, fast women, easy money and cheap thrills. Chasing such empty pleasures leave me hollow and cold inside after the pleasure is gone. In contrast, when I get done praying, reading my Bible, spending time with my children or attending mass on Sunday I feel peace and serenity that not only lasts during the action but that continues on into my days to come. 

So how do you spend your time? Is it satisfying? Are you looking for something better?

Know this, God loves you and he wants to spend time with you. You are his child and he loves you like no other. He wants to share everything that he has with you. Does that mean that you'll never have a bad day? No, but with God in your life you'll find you can conquer anything. I encourage you this, stop wasting your time on worldly pleasures, they're empty. Your time on this earth is precious. Do not waste it. One day you will die and your soul will need a place to go. You can go to heaven or you can go to hell. I don't mean to be rude, but it is that simple. 

Anybody can chase the pleasures on this earth, and know this there's nothing wrong with pleasure. God made food to taste wonderful. God put beautiful things on this planet for you to enjoy. God put beautiful people on this planet so that you would not be alone and find pleasure in their company, but these are gifts that should be respected. These are gifts that should be treasured. These are not gifts that should be treated like cheap thrills which are thrown away as soon as they are consumed and you have no more use for them.

The resources on this planet should be treasured and respected.

Each person that you meet is a gift and should be treasured and respected. 

Imagine you gave your dear friend and amazing treasure or a large sum of money. If on the next day you saw them wasting that treasure or throwing that money away on empty thrills as is if it was nothing how would you feel? 

I would imagine you would be hurt. I would imagine that you would feel like your precious gift was not appreciated. That is how God feels when we waste the gifts he gives us each day. But know this, God is waiting for you right now. His son Jesus is waiting for you to. God Jesus and the Holy Spirit all have so much more to give and to share. They do not want to see you waste your life. They want to see you rise up, become strong and to be the person they know you can be. It all starts with you though by making that choice, by asking God to come into your life taking Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and asking the Holy Spirit for help each and every day. Trust me what you have waiting for you on this earth if you bring them into your life pales in comparison to any quick pleasure you could chase down on your own. In heaven you will find a sheer Utopia that cannot even be imagined. Anyone can live a life of sin, it's easy, but just like anything else in life if you want to be a champion and enter the gates of heaven you will have to live a life of discipline. The best part is you have the world's best life coach waiting for you. All you have to do is call. 

So how will you treat your relationship with God? Will you cherish him like your most prized possession, or will you let it rot and rust?

MT 7:6, 12-14

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.

“Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.”

A Thought: Stuff That Keeps Getting In the Way

There are times when I find myself just spending my days taking care of “stuff”. I move it, clean it, work on it, work with it, play with it and all other kinds of “its” with my “stuff”. God wants our focus to be on him. Not because he is a complete ego maniac but because he knows that we are easily distracted. I have two young boys and all I used to hear about was video games. When they would play, what they would play, how they would play, they would get angry and mistreat one another if they interfered with each’s video games. So I put it to a stop and put them on high restriction where they could only play on the weekends when all of there chores and responsibilities were taken care of. An amassing thing happened they slowly began to think of other things. It was easy to teach them because video games weren’t lingering in their mind. From time to time they still slip and want to binge but for the most part they are more focused on important things.

God doesn’t care if you have money, material possessions or power. What does concern him though is that if we spend too much time acquiring such things then we spend less time doing what is really important. See this would works pretty good but it works a whole lot better when we care for one another. If we start focusing on things of man then we loose focus of love. I used to idolize guitars and music. There were never enough guitars hanging on my wall. I spent all my free time searching for the next purchase. Everything was kept in balance by my music and guitars. Problem was guitars weren’t perfect. On a bad day my guitars couldn’t give me advice on how to act. Because I was focused on collecting guitars and playing music so much I missed out on problems in my life when they were small and I didn’t notice till they were large and hard to handle. 

When God says “every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. “, this means that those who leave behind desires men and women have and focus God’s mission they will easily enter the kingdom of heaven because they will have taken on a life of sacrifice and love instead of one worshiping “idols” by means of collecting “stuff”, money or power. You can get into heaven rich, poor, powerful, nobody, with everything or nothing the key is that you love God with all your heart and love everyone as you would want to be loved. God doesn’t want us to focus on things he wants us to focus on him and how to love and that is the guide and map to get into heaven. He sent Jesus down with some pretty good lessons on how to live. I suggest reading his lessons in the Bible. I have taken Jesus as my savior, my hero, the person I base my life on and who I look up to. Am I perfect? No, I make mistakes all the time but God doesn’t expect us to be perfect. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness and try to do better. God already loves us. He just wants us to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be. 

Matthew 19:23-30

23And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." 25When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" 26But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." 27Then Peter said in reply, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?" 28Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30But many that are first will be last, and the last first.