{{2012_06_06_t1.jpg}} {{2012_06_06_t2.jpg}} {{2012_06_06_t3.jpg}} [[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/de/doku.php/jn_de_2012_06_06|Deutsche Version]] [[Start|| Wiki Start]] [[topics_collection_iv|| Topics Collection iv ]] ======Smart with Money? ...====== Wednesday, June 6, 2012. With a friend I had a long discussion about money recently. We went through the whole story: salary, kids, house, car, ... How important is money for us and what does it have to do with reason? {{2012_06_06.jpg }} **Do I have enough money? ...** First of all: if you are responsible for the finances of a family, you probably had times in the past where you had to think carefully about money. To live with three or four or five from one or a little more than one salary can be challenging. But how important is money for us? How does it influence our feeling, our self-esteem, our activities and plans? We live in a society which is built on consumption. The marketing which we are exposed to brings advertising from morning to evening. Buy, do, spend ... we get this type of advice or influence day by day by day. And it has a strong influence on our way to think, on our way to live! {{ 2012_06_06_2.jpg}} **What Jesus tells us ...** Jesus tells us to be fine with having clothing and food. He tells us to look into other things with our life. He tells us to search the Lord, and then let him equip us with what we need. He tells us to stay away from a life built on money, on things we own and have and collect! It is not easy to follow Jesus' command. Our general environment is just too difficult. We live together with people who live in nice houses. Even our Christian friends are proud of their cars, their job, their achievements. And so we are drawn into an environment where money and success is important. And when we are honest with ourselves, we realise that we all (we might own a little more or a little less) cannot pull ourselves out of this. But Jesus has another idea for our life. He wants to free us from the orientation towards money, success and esteem built on particular achievements. Every human is gifted in a different way. Everyone has huge value for the Lord. Everyone has his or her particular role, important for the community! He can tell us more ... let us ask him and let us read the New Testament. (Roland Potthast) [[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/en/doku.php/topics_collection_iv|... more texts]]