Today I write in a humbled spirit. I have been living in err and until today wasn’t fully aware of it.
Thank you, Lord, for using different things to engage my attention.
I know I am blessed. I hear how American’s make up the top 1% of the wealth of the entire World. In an article I read posted in 2019, the mean yearly income of the world is $2,000. ( http://www.sportofmoney.com/how-rich-are-americans-on-a-global-scale-very-rich/) Wowza!
There are so many various factors and the cost of living is so very different as well. America also has a majority of the millionaires and billionaires, so that boosts our stats as well. But even so, the statistics state that there are some people living on less than $2,000, if that is the mean of ALL incomes. To live in America has so many privileges.
I am a huge fan of America and all that it has to offer. The American Dream is real and attainable… yet it is this dream that got me twisted in my thinking.
I grew up in a family of 14. My dad worked hard to provide, and we always had our needs met. God truly provided and gave us above and beyond what was necessary. But I had felt like there were certain things I would have liked to do or have that I couldn’t. I began to see things as I grew older that I wanted, and the wants began to turn into “needs”.
I need a house when my first child is born.
I need to give my children the best of everything: opportunities/food/clothing.
I need to appear successful.
I need, I need, I need…
I need to buy [whatever] now on Facebook Marketplace or else I won’t find a deal like this again!
… I need a Costco… (Not just the items, I want the entire Costco. I want to live in a Costco. 😂) I had to give up going to Costco because we would always walk out with at least 10 items more than we went in there for. And I say I gave it up, but really, my husband just didn’t renew the membership. What a wonderful store of incredibly made items at wholesale prices. Isn’t this a place where “needs” are met?
Sorry about the rant. “My name is Tabitha, and I am a shopaholic”.
Lately we have really needed to change the way we live. I know I have developed terrible habits. When you just swipe a card and then voila, it’s payed for, I never felt the squeeze. But each transaction was my husband’s hard earned money being taken for granted. The finances began to cause more and more arguments, until my sweet husband just stopped telling me where we were at because he wanted me to have whatever I wanted. My ignorance and desire to keep up appearances was bringing us down a trap I was completely unaware I had been leading my family.
We had two car payments, two credit cards, a house payment, and roughly 5 tv subscriptions that we new we were paying for… a who knew how many more “free trials” we had forgotten to cancel as well.
Though my husband is an amazing budgeter, he was married to a wife who thought it was more a “guideline instead of actual rules”. Grocery shopping was always over, but “I want to buy only the healthiest products for my kids”.
When shopping, I hated when my husband would ask, “how much do you think you’ll spend”. I didn’t want to be limited. I felt no matter what I would say it was probably too much. And no matter what I responded, the total inevitably exceeded that.
I was totally in the “gimme” mentality!!!!
I am embarassed to confess all of these things.
I have listened to Dave Ramsey and both my husband and I were raised on his principles. I know what budgets are and their benefits and importance. But it wasn’t sinking in.
Until today…
I’ve been slowly working through the devotion Steadfast by Courtney Doctor. It is divine providence that after another disheartening look at our savings account that I got to this exact part in the study.
Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
James 1:9-11
It’s tempting to trust in money for our security, rather than trusting in God.
Courtney Doctor
I dove even deeper into the note in my Bible on this passage. That’s when God really grabbed the reigns of my heart. I was shocked:
The church is to be a “counter cultural” community, which reverses the values of the world. Given the context, James seems to be saying that the challenges of poverty and wealth may be one of the greatest “trials” for Christians, as would be suggested by his immediate emphasis on the “blessed” status of those who remain “steadfast under trial”. James also echos Jesus’ warning that “You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24)
ESV commentary
The struggle between poverty and riches is a trial! It is riddled with temptations to be like the culture we live in, instead of being set apart. “The love of money is the root of all evil”. Are we aware of when we cross into the “love” of money?! The ever pressing desire to have more and more. The belief that our security is found in money will continually let you down and leave you discouraged and never at peace.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you have adopted any of these mindsets, then like me, it needs to change. And it won’t go without temptations. Even as I write this, I just received an invite to go to a Just Between Friends sale with my wonderful sisters. The struggle is real!!!
I have lost sight of what is good and true and have replaced it with greed and sin. For what? Momentary pleasure?
I am tired of living disappointed and strapped. I have been freed from bondage. Let’s not put ourselves back in!
The Messy Life 