Monthly Archives: January 2012

January 29, 2012—SnyderTalk Editorial: Money Isn’t Everything

Old Posts

This is an excerpt from What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life?

When Jesus said “store up…treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal,” He was telling us to put our assets to work to accomplish His objectives, and He was not talking about financial assets exclusively.  He wants us to use all of our resources (spiritual, physical, and financial) to accomplish His goals, and as I said before, people matter most to God.

Money isn’t everything, but many people hunger and thirst for it even if they have no idea what to do with it when they get it.  They devote their lives to accumulating money as if it were the only thing that matters, and they incorrectly believe that their increasing net worth is a sign of their “prosperity.”  As far as God is concerned, our heavenly investments are the only ones that matter.

Anyone who is interested in being Jesus’ disciple should ask this question before embarking on a saving and investing regimen.  What do I want to accomplish with the wealth I create?  Your answer should include things to advance God’s agenda.

A few years ago, I heard a story about J.C. Penny.  He founded the company that carries his name.  At one point early in the life of his company, J.C. Penny went bankrupt.  A friend asked him how he felt about all the money he had given over the years to support worthy causes now that he was penniless.  He told his friend that those investments were the only ones he could count on.  J.C. Penny understood what Jesus meant.

The Rich Fool

Jesus used a parable about a rich fool to explain His view on the subject of wealth creation.  It’s found in Luke 12: 16-21, and this is the essence of the parable:

  • A rich man owned some very productive farm land, and he decided to build large barns to store his crops.
  • He tore down his old barns and constructed bigger ones.  After filling them he planned to retire in style — or as Jesus said, he planned to “eat, drink and be merry.” Luke 12: 19
  • But God had other plans.  The day he completed filling his new barns, the rich fool died.

Jesus concluded this parable with a stern warning: “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12: 21)  In the end, if your only purpose for saving and investing is to increase your net worth or to provide a comfortable lifestyle for you and your family, you are making a tragic mistake.

That doesn’t mean God wants you to live like a pauper.  Far from it.  It simply means that you were put on earth for a purpose, and that purpose was not merely to accumulate wealth.  God’s plan for you includes all the years of your life, including your retirement years, and He expects you to use your resources (spiritual, physical, and financial) to provide for you and your family and to advance His agenda.

Don’t be like the rich fool in Jesus’ parable and leave God out of your plans.  If your goal in life is simply to create wealth, one day you will discover that you made the biggest mistake that anyone can ever make.  As King Solomon said, “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” (Proverbs 11: 4)

When you die, and rest assured that you will die one day, all the wealth in the world could not buy you a spot in heaven.  On the other hand, what you do with the wealth God entrusts to you while you are here on earth carries a lot of weight at that critical moment.

To see other SnyderTalk editorials, click here.

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Jeremiah 41: 7-8

Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men that were with him slaughtered them and cast them into the cistern.  But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death; for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil and honey hidden in the field.” So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions.

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Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide.  It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.  Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided.  They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make.  As they say, forewarned is forearmed.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

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Hosea 4: 6

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

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Stand! is a gripping novel about the subterfuge surrounding the global warming debate.  It lays out the facts concerning climate change through an exciting story that pits a college professor and his research collaborator against corrupt university administrators and radical environmentalists.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

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What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life?  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

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If You Voted for Obama in 2008 to Prove You’re Not a Racist, You Need to Vote for Someone Else in 2012 to Prove You’re Not an Idiot explains why voters in the United States need to elect someone besides Barack Obama to lead them.  Whoever is elected President of the United States in 2012 will have to contend with the monumental problems that Obama’s misguided policies have caused both at home and abroad.  One thing is certain, though.  It should not be Barack Obama.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

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Yahweh to Jeremiah—Jeremiah 16: 21

“Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.”

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Natural Healthcare Store carries skin care, hair care, and oral care products.  Be sure to check out the Dead Sea products imported from Israel and support the Israeli economy with your purchases.  Natural Healthcare Store carries makeup, deodorant, and detoxification products.  It also carries supplements, weight loss products, and loose leaf tea.  Rounding out its product mix, Natural Healthcare Store carries natural household cleaning products.

Katie and I believe strongly in healthy living, and we use the products.  We’re proud to say that our daughter Melanie owns the store.

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His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important.  It’s available in eBook format and in paperback.

God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”

Exodus 3: 15