“But there are some things you don’t know about me. Did you know that my mother is in an expensive nursing home?”

“Well, no, we didn’t know.”

“Did you know also that my brother died, and left a family of five and had almost no insurance?”

“No, we didn’t.”

“Did you know my son is deeply religious, has gone into social work, and makes less than the national poverty level to meet the needs of his family?”

“No, we hadn’t realized.”

“Well, then, if I don’t give any of them a penny, why do you think I’ll give it to you?”

Some people think their harvest comes only with dollar signs.

But the pilot was a little less than genius. When he dropped those hundreds of beautiful pieces of paper, the wind carried them blocks to the northeast where they dropped over open fields in what is now the Eastside High School and Maxton’s Park area.

My bicycle buddies and I ran into the fields to retrieve our booty. Hours later we had gathered stacks and stacks of advertisements. It was so cool! Then someone asked the obvious question, “What are we going to do with all these?” We were so excited about harvesting what seemed so valuable that we never asked the question, “Why?”

I think life can be like that. We can manically race around trying to get all we can get. Then, when we have to give account for our lives on judgment day, we will look back over what we have and ask the obvious question, “Why?” Did all that stuff really matter when we could have much more wisely invested our time and talent.

Ask yourself the question, “What are we going to do with all these?”

He hit the accelerator on his BMW convertible and let the breeze blow his hair backwards. Suddenly, he lost control of the car and rolled down a mountain throwing himself from the car. Onlookers quickly called the police who rushed to the scene, finding the fellow stumbling around and looking below at his wrecked car.

The police reported that the man was bleeding profusely and muttering, “Oh, my car. It’s ruined, it’s ruined.” A policeman chastised the man and said, “You idiot yuppie! All you really care about is your car and you don’t even notice that your left arm has been severed and is missing!”

The yuppie looked down and moaned, “Oh, no, not my Rolex, too!”

God’s blessing may include some really nice things in this world. But, we need to be sure our things are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, as well as our souls. When Job lost his possessions, he responded by saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21).

How have you reacted when the Lord allowed something to be taken from you?

The preacher grasped their hands, sighed contentedly, smiled and stared at the ceiling. For a time, no one said anything. Both the doctor and lawyer were touched and flattered that the preacher would ask them to be with him during his final moments. They were also puzzled; the preacher had never given them any indication that he particularly liked either of them. They both remembered his many long, uncomfortable sermons about greed, covetousness and sinful behavior that made them squirm in their seats.

Finally, the doctor said, “Preacher, why did you ask us to come?” The old preacher mustered up his strength, then said weakly, “Jesus died between two thieves…and that’s how I want to go.”

We’re all going somewhere. Do you know where?

The first boy said, “Well, we are Catholics and we went to midnight Mass and came home and went right to bed. The next morning we had a big breakfast and sat around the Christmas tree and opened all our presents.”

The second child then told her experience. “We are United Methodists but we did about the same thing. We went to the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service and came home and went to bed We had a big Christmas breakfast and then opened all our presents.”

The third child then said, “Well, we aren’t Christians. But we did have a big breakfast and opened presents around the tree. Then we all got into the car and went downtown to my dad’s department store. He showed us all the empty shelves. He showed us all the money. Then we made a circle around the cash register, joined hands, and sang, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’.”

25% of Americans would abandon their family.
23% would become a prostitute for a week.
16% would renounce their citizenship.
7% would kill a stranger.
4% would have a sex change operation.

What would you do for ten million dollars?

I’ve known men who were always looking for better women, always searching for the better job, never content with what God has given them. I’ve also known women who were never content with their house or car, always hopping from church to church, always searching for greener grass. They thought the grass was greener on the other side until they got there.

Someone once said, “If you think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, it is probably because you are not properly caring for the grass on your own side.”

My Bible says, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have” (Hebrews 13:5a).