No Compromise

As the fiscal cliff looms I am sure that no deal will be made prior to the deadline.  This is for one primary reason: self interest on the part of the politicians. A deal prior to the fiscal cliff would be reasonable and practical and helpful and wise.  These are not things American politics is primarily interested in.  

The way things will play out is the Fiscal Cliff will pass and only then deals will be made.  A secondary reason why this will be allowed to happen is because the fiscal cliff is not so dramatic as it sounds.  The financial impact will begin slowly, they are what the Atlantic calls a fiscal slope. Basically the cuts will be end up being very pronounced but the immediate impact will come slowly and eat into our recovery over time.  The takeaway is the immediate effects are not as bad as you may have been led to believe.  So don't freak out. 

As I said the primary reason for no deal prior to the deadline is political self interest on both sides.  Basically tax hikes and spending cuts that will necessarily begin on Jan 1.  Both cuts and tax increases are things that our politicians understand need to happen because  for the US to get healthy we need more revenue and less spending.  We need to get our budget under control. The problem is that Dems love to social programs and Repubs love low taxes.  They promise these things, they run on these promises.  Even if it isn't in the best interest of America they know what their constituents want to hear and how they will vote.

So here is the beautiful/sad irony of this arbitrary cliff.  Not making a deal plays into the hands of leaders on both sides. Once the spending cuts and tax hikes begin members of both parties can now keep their promises.  High taxes are thrust upon us poor Americans, cuts to our social services are enacted and we begin to feel the pinch.  A post cliff deal would allow the promises each party made to its supporters to be kept. Repubs can lessen the severity of the tax hikes and Dems can lessen the cuts to social programs.   Everyone keeps their promises! That way they won't lose in primaries!  Congressmen who are only in self preservation accomplish their primary goal of reelection! Yay for Congressmen! They finally compromised and saved the day!  Except they really just gamed us and the system. 

All of this to say that our hope should not be in governments or nations.  It should not be in individual leaders or institutions. 

Like Jesus we need to understand the basic nature of humanity. (John 2:23-25) That all have sinned, that all fall short.  That none of us is perfect.  Except for the One who came to us on Christmas day millenia ago.  




Jesus did not run on selfish promotion but self sacrifice.  Jesus came as a poor baby and ended up even lower, dying on a cross between thieves.  He laid his life down so that we might be lifted up. He turns the games of this world on their head. And because of that Jesus is the real hero.  The one who truly saves the day.  If you are sick of the games, sick of manipulation and alternate agendas trust in the One who already gave the greatest gift, for you. 

Jesus is all I need

There is a lot of writing about the rampant consumerism in America and growing throughout the world.  I've written about it in the past, here and a number of other places when dealing with politics and injustice.  Skye Jethani wrote the book on its negative influence in the church. CNN just had an article declaring greed the last taboo. Which doesn't really make any sense, but there it is anyway.


Anyway, I just wanted to use this opportunity to remind us all that we need to find our identity and sufficiency in Jesus alone.  Here is another article from Time.  The point is that materialistic people are less happy in marriages.  The suspected reasons, since these people find more pleasure in possessions rather than people they put their time and energy into getting stuff, rather than in the people around them.  There is truth in that. Take Ecclesiastes 2 for example



 ⁴ I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ⁵ I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem^[a]as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹ I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
 ¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
   I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
   and this was the reward for all my toil.
¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
   and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
   nothing was gained under the sun.


Solomon was one of the few people who could afford everything his heart desired, (tho Americans definitely try)  and yet it was all unfulfilling.  He was not satisfied with everything so long as his heart was not set on God. 


Nothing else satisfies, and chasing after it destroys our other relationships.  Therefore guard your hearts and minds from this insidious idol, this greed that seeks to control. 

The Anti Corruption God.

 I just read this article http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2091395,00.html that I think reaffirms the truths we had been learning about in Micah.  It makes me long all the more for God's Gospel to keep going forth in this world, and ultimately for God's glory to be shown when he brings final justice to a world rife with injustice.  

Remember and reflect on these 2 verses from our study in Micah

 Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. 
   And what does the LORD require of you? 
To act justly and to love mercy 
   and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 7:7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, 
   I wait for God my Savior; 
   my God will hear me.

The first is how we are part of the solution here.  How we can work towards a world that reflects God's goodness.

The Second trusts that even tho we will never finally deal with all the corruption and Justice, we hope in the one who will set it all right.

Right Questions Wrong Answers

The other day I ran across this quote from C. S. Lewis.


Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.
C. S. Lewis 


There are certain strains in our society that tell us that education is the solution to all the ills of our society. As someone who actually believes in sin I disagree with this position.  The problem isn't uneducated people, the problem is people.  As a society we've been reminded of this with the recent economic abuse enacted on regular people by Bernie Madoff and his ilk, but we also see it in the political sex scandals of Wiener and Strauss-Kahn. These were all well educated people who commit wrongs against others, abusing their position and justifying there wrong doing.  All of this lines up with this quote and what ultimately underlines humanity. Sinful and corrupted human beings  to serve self first. Sadly when the educated sin, it often has the potential to hurt many more people.


This TIME article reinforces this idea that its not only the uneducated (or entitled "celebrities") who sin.  The author points out that the rich steal more often than the poor.  From an economic and needs standpoint that doesn't make sense at all. Yet this is the reality, educated people easily rationalizing why they don't need to follow the rules.  Why they can do as they see fit.  


I think its the unwillingness to submit that is at the heart of all sin.  We rebel against God and his ways, we put ourselves on the throne and proceed to serve self above all.  For some of us those sins might express themselves in shoplifting, or sex scandals or financial indiscretions, but for all of us we stand against God rather than at his feet.  Education (while extremely important and highly recommended and something my kids had better commit to or else) doesn't help us submit our will to God.  Instead it gives us more tools with which to rationalize and justify our self serving nature. Scripture says since knowledge puffs up and as we are grow ever prouder it becomes harder and harder to submit. So lets pray that God would give us humble hearts, that we would see our sin for what it is, and that we wouldn't pin all of our hopes on the answers and pathways the world provides. Instead lets pin our hopes on Christ and walk humbly and act justly.  


I'm hoping to post a follow up relating to awareness as the hipster answer to social problems related to this idea that education is the answer to everything...

Borders and Crossing the Line

With the closing of 30% of Borders stores and its chapter 11 bankruptcy this may be the end of the book as we know it.  Mike Shatzkin in the Wall Street Journal predicts a 90% reduction in bricks an mortar bookstores as Amazon and e-readers take over the market.  Are traditional books to follow and with it, perhaps analytic and grounded thinking.  


I offer myself and my own thinking as examples.  I read a lot of stuff online.  As I look for sermon illustrations and even insights on passages I often scour the internet for illumination, but often I don't trust what I get online because everyone's opinion is on here and who is to say it is worthwhile.  So I often turn to books, articles and to commentaries from trusted authors and publishers.  As books and publishers and even bookstores fade, where will all of these things be grounded?  What and who will we recognize as authorities or at least as informed people whose opinion should be considered and trusted?  The internet is full of opinions, many of them are completely uninformed, developing unfounded conspiracy theories, making seriously defective conclusions. Thus the reason for websites like snopes.com. The concern for critical thinking as it relates to students and adults has quickly become a concern in Academia. in 2000-2002, 16 articles and books at least were written  to address the reality that we need to do a better job helping young people internalize truth and reject unfounded claims.  Suffice to say, the prospect of undermined quality printed material makes this more difficult.


Ultimately, this brings me back to Scripture and that we as believers say that God's Word is authoritative.   Without authority, we are all free to make our own reality.  We make our own rules, we make ourselves our own gods.  That may sound good at the outset.  I think that making our own reality and self actualization  are things that our culture promotes.  But when it comes down to it ultimately self centeredness is a dead end.  Without things we all hold in common we will become increasingly divided.  Without a common law a common authority we'd find ourselves in anarchy pretty quickly.  In the same way without a common authority (or at the very least opinions based in fact) we'll quickly descend into intellectual anarchy where every opinion is equally valid.  Even the stupid ones.  Even the dangerous ones. 

Culture wars...to what end?

With the recent statements of David Cameron, Nikolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel, Leaders of Europe's 3 largest nations saying that multiculturalism is a failed experiment, and with the recent abandoning of democratic process in Indiana and Wisconsin (links everywhere) I'm wondering if there really is a way forward for America. 


 Chuck Colson, former advisor to Nixon, who came to faith in prison and started Prison Fellowship, a Christian ministry to reach and help rehabilitate prisoners said in a recent article that he believes multiculturalism is impossible to sustain without some unifying aim. One of America's Motto's is E pluribus unum- of many, one. My fear is that there are 2 clear directions we are headed as Americans.  With two strong philosophical polls pulling us further and further apart we will be incapable of moving forward.  Incapable of meaningful or lasting change.  I fear that while we aren't decrying Islam as the incompatible culture like Europe is, it is we who have a much bigger problem on our hands, rather than minority subcultures, we have 2 equally large divided cultures in America, the rhetoric and actions seem like they will only escalate.  


As always Ideas have Consequences.  Let's pray we can start to see the ways we can work together.


I should also add that God's Kingdom will be multicultural.  The people from every tribe tongue and nation will be in God's presence.  And that while we will be many it will be possible because we do have that one thing unifying us, that one aim which is to give glory to our God and Savior.  Amen.


Add this to my points. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2052843,00.html?xid=rss-mostpopular

New Playlist Arcade Fire

I'm including a new playlist by Arcade Fire.  A Pitchfork Review said this about their faith.


Lately, gospel-- not to mention fundamentalist Christianity-- has been experiencing something of a renaissance, so it's no shock that the same label that sometimes frowned upon Cash's religious recordings is eager to revisit them today. But times are different. Big music names from Bono to Mary J. Blige to Arcade Fire are believers of the highest order.


While I do think there are hints to their faith in many of their songs there is also a criticism of hypocrisy in the church.  The most explicit is in the last song on the playlist Antichrist Television Blues.  Basically about a guy praying for a child to make it big.  I think it may also be an indictment concerning Christian Music; saying that we can make music that mines the themes of faith for the masses or just grab the cash that comes more easily to Christian Artists.


Either Way enjoy the music, consider the lyrics.  I hope that we are willing to bring the love of God to all people through all means

If Your Life Ends the Day you get Married, this would be Convenient. Otherwise I'd say no

Long title I know. But I couldn't be anything other than disturbed by this growing trend to have weddings in funeral homes.  Weird.  I think its part of our lessening the value of marriage in our America.  Here are some interesting other thoughts of late.


1) Marriage rates are shrinking among those who would benefit most from marriage, the working poor.  The article says that the wealthy elite introduced the ideas of marriage as an unnecessary human construct, but generally marry.  


2) The same arguments made to advocate same sex marriage are now used to defend incest.  The reason we shouldn't allow incest according to social commentator Willaim Slatean, It's bad for families.  I agree, that's what people have been saying about homosexuality and divorce for forever.   I don't think that holds any water legally.   If you read most of the comments they promote the idea of incest for consenting adults, so long as they don't have kids. These same arguments are being used to promote polyamory... Slippery Slope anyone?  (not that we have to just that there is no logical reason not to change our stance)


How can we be so messed up and not even know it?  



Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
 ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
 ²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
 ²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Remix Culture

I was reading today about the how a new form of art today is basically stealing from the cultural milieu (that may be the first time I've ever written milieu)  and making it your own in some way.  This has different forms, from sampling and mixing to mashups.  Perhaps the most notorious purveyor  is Gregg Gillis aka Girl Talk who is produced by illegal art.  And there in lies the problem or at least the question.  How much of today's music and art and film is legitimate and how much is blatant stealing and re purposing of others ideas?  How do we protect artists and give them motivation to create and provide the right rewards when their work is what brings the dollars rolling in?


The other reality is that art has always been a call and response.  One person taking influence and concepts from other artists and speaking new value into them, challenging these innovations or using them as a jumping point.  If you go to any art show there will always be an interplay between artists.  This brief article about Matisse and Picasso really brings that to light.  I think this reality blurs the line all the more...sure artists of the past had to reproduce elements of art on their own, and that made it more difficult to "steal" or incorporate someone else's work.  That said, there are new mediums, new artistic forms and opportunities and those influences can be more easily co-opted.  Is that necessarily wrong?


This same question is asked of pastors as many preach books that others have written, they simply take titles and themes from other pastors and authors and present them as they try to make them there own.  Is this legit?  Where is the line?  For me, I want my inspiration to always be God's Word.  So it is my building block, his word is my starting point. I try to preach exegetically, and to address our church and cultural situation.  I will read commentaries, occasionally listen to another sermon on a topic and even take an illustration that fits a theme from another source, but I also try to give the credit to the original source or at least from the source I borrowed from.  In some ways, that is where mashups and sampling always pays homage to the original and gives the credit back since its real source is not meant to be hidden but presented in the light.

The Sanctity of Marriage

The Pew Research Center Recently released new findings and changing attitudes toward what marriage and family mean these days.  Read more in this Time Article.  It is a very interesting and telling study, basically it says that we still want to get married (95% of respondents under 30) but think marriage is a fading cultural institution (44% of that same age group think marriage will become extinct).  It shows that people who embrace marriage now more than ever are healthier and wealthier.  They live longer and make on average 41% more than singles.  Children of married parents achieve higher grades, and have better behavior than children of divorces.  Marriage is a gift and its benefits seen in society.  

And yet...

We devalue it, Americans see it as a fine choice, one they would like for themselves but not for everyone.  And not for better or worse.  

Divorce is actually declining, but cohabitation is way way up.  Cohabiting couples break up at much higher rates than marrieds even when kids are involved.

According to the study half of kids who are born to unmarried mothers were to people who were living together, over 50% of those mothers thought they would end up marrying the father, 5 years later only 16% were married.  

We are destroying the institution and destroying our nation, to give in to our personal whims and wishes  as we fail to keep our vows and commitments before each other, our friends and our God.  

Pray for your married friends and your marriages.  I'll pray for yours and mine.

Utmost

Most of the church today doesn't really take Jesus lifestyle seriously.  We put a lot of pop psychology in there to make the calls to self sacrifice and eternally giving to others in there to make it palatable and sensible.  


I can do that pretty easily as well.  


Oswald Chambers devotional spells out that we need to give, trust follow Jesus at all times.  This faith is impossible without Christ.  Thank God he came to save us from ourselves.

Marriage

This past weekend Dani and I went to a wedding.  It's always a good reminder for those of us married to hear others taking those vows, making that promise. To love:  to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I think it helps us to refocus on the part we play in making things work.  It reminds us of the difficult commitment we have made, but that indeed we did commit.  It reminds us of the joy and expectancy and hope of that day, a hope that still exists in us all as we continue to grow in that love or at least striving for that beautiful perfect love that we know exists.


Sometimes in that pursuit however, we get lost.  We get things backwards and messed up. I was reflecting on my vows.  The Old English vows written by Thomas Cranmer.  It's usually presented like this, "with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you." but the original reads this, "With my body I thee worship and with all my worldly goods I thee endow. Pretty big difference, right? I mean you can see the heart of the original in the revision.  It's a lot more palatable to modern sensibilities, but it loses the power of the original and the thrust of what marriage really is.  Marriage is a complete commitment to the other person for their good.  Usually we get married because we love who we are when we are with that person.  They make us happier, or smarter, or safer, or braver, or whatever, but all too often we love ourselves when we are with them.  Marriage and life together helps us to learn what it is to love someone.  


We see this progression in Song of Solomon.  in 2:16 it says this 


My lover is mine and I am his.


In 6:3 the order changes


I am my lover's and my lover is mine; 


In 7:10 we see a further evolution


¹⁰ I belong to my lover,
       and his desire is for me.




Notice how in the first verse (pre-wedding) the beloved is focused on possessing her spouse.  He is mine.  First and foremost this is about what he can do for me.  This is essential and a normal part of our growing into love.   The same thing happens in our relationship with Jesus.  We want what he can do for us.  So we accept the proposal.  


However, that's not the aim.  That's not what we hope for and ultimately, a possessive me focused relationship is unsatisfying.  In Chapter 6 we still see possession, we still see ownership, but we see the order changed.  There is a recognition of belonging to the other person, we begin to give up our rights to ourself. We begin to understand love as a place to give, but our sense of self and rights and desires are not eradicated.


In chapter 7, we see the difference.  A complete abandonment of self interest of possessing and owning the other.  We are now free to give ourselves completely to our spouse.  Here is the beautiful thing though.  She knows she is loved.  She knows her husbands heart is committed to her and without that love we don't get to this point.  There can be relationships where someone gives up their rights to themselves, and it's a messed up out of whack relationship that does not honor God.  There can be relationships where men demand women serve them and give themselves up for them, abusive, oppressive relationships. There can be relationships where women control their husbands, manipulating, nagging and operating in a way to suck all the joy out of the relationship in order to get what they want.   There are a lot of ways to mess up a relationship, for sure. But there is only one way to get it right, and that is for both spouses to see that every aspect of marriage is about caring for the other.  Giving all that you have and all that you are to each other.  That means mentally and emotionally, that means spiritually and physically and that means financially and sexually.  This is where we pick up these vows that Dani and I said 8 years ago.  


These are areas of conflict for a lot of couples, but these need to be areas that we both see as essential to the health of our relationships.  We need to seek to serve and care for and love each other through these areas. I'm going to deal with how to do that in later posts since this is already a monster as it is.  Here is a good article in the meantime.
http://www.diobeth.org/Bishop/DLColumns/dlcolumn10.html

Mercy

A while back my son got lost.  I started to freak out and panic.  I was so panicked I started yelling out "Gabe!" Of course this was done in public to the other parents judgmental and derisive looks. Eventually, I found him.  I was upset.  I've decided some time when we are out I will hide on him so that he feels the panic and fear that I felt.  I'll have to think of something else to help him understand the humiliation I felt by exposing my poor parenting to people I don't even know....


Ok, so actually I'm not going to do that.  I've already dealt with it with the words I forgive you.  Sure, I said some other stuff before those words. But I can and did forgive him because I don't need to have justice in the situation. I don't need to make sure things are fair because I was "wronged." I get a chance to forgive and in forgiveness we find mercy.


These days justice especially social justice is often held up as the highest moral virtue.  Maybe Love still holds the #1 spot, but we hear a lot about justice.  And I think justice is important and essential and I love that our God is a just God who will judge the evil and hate and all the things that bring about pain in our world. I'm glad for all the ways and chances we have to be involved in bringing justice to broken people and systems. I think the church needs to take a greater stand against oppression and unfairness inherent in America.  But I think it is important that we remember a few other things about God and the role of Justice, Mercy and Grace in the redemptive story


Justice is getting what you deserve, what is fair. I have a lot of things that I don't necessarily deserve more than others just because I was born at a certain time in a certain family, had certain opportunities.  All things where its not fair that I had an advantage and others didn't and so I want to work to provide fair structures and opportunities for all people. But there is another side to justice, to fairness.  I hurt people I love.  I get angry and impatient. sometimes people get mad back, but sometimes they can't exact justice and I get away with injustice. We all do. Ask my kids.


Mercy is not getting what you deserve.  For all the wrongs that we do we could get justice. God keeps track of them. Some of the people in our lives keep track of them and hold them against us. In reality that is fair, it is just it is right.  But there is another way.  A way of forgiveness.  A way to say, I know you wronged me but I'm not going to hold it against you.  That is the story of Jonah. I'll be preaching on it through July and into August. I'm excited to learn more about mercy and God's compassion for individuals, and nations and even animals. And I'm really really grateful for mercy.  Mercy extended by God, by my family especially by my wife, by my church and friends. Mercy should be met with gratitude.


Grace is getting what we don't deserve. So basically grace is beyond justice and beyond mercy.  It is something that we can't earn. It is something that goes beyond forgiveness. It is something that looks at all our failures and wrongs and the hurtful things we do and say.  It sees the times we turn our backs on justice.  It says in spite of all that, in spite of the evil in your past and in your heart. I will not only forgive you, I will bless you.  When we understand true Justice we can understand the good news.  We get to see the gospel and grace for what they are:  The true gift of God.

New Eyes

I got new glasses last week. I like them a lot, but I'm not sure if they are the reason I'm seeing the world more clearly.  On Monday I walked and prayed for an hour and the sky was a deep blue, the clouds a brilliant white.  The leaves seemed greener too. All the beauty had me thinking about our Creator and what we lose by being insulated from this world, inside all the time.  Stuck looking at concrete and brick.  We are becoming an increasingly atheistic people, especially in large cities.  Scripture often speaks of how creation demonstrates who God is.
Ps 19: The heavens declare the glory of God;
       the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
 ² Day after day they pour forth speech;
       night after night they display knowledge.

Romans 1:20
. ²⁰For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

When I was younger I would go hiking, escape to the woods and let God's creative power work in me. I was reconnected with his immensity as I saw myself as a speck once again.  One of my favorite illustrations of his hugeness is:


Imagine a grapefruit.  Ok That grapefruit is the Sun, now imagine a grain of sand 35 feet away. that is the earth, the moon a speck of sand would be a half inch from the first grain of sand.  Now Imagine another grapefruit 2000 miles away. that's alpha centauri the nest closest star.  Now recognize that there are at least 100 billion stars (maybe 400 billion?) in the Milky way all about 1600 miles from each other using this same scale.  And at least 100 Billion galaxies in the Universe maybe 500 billion.  Think about how huge the universe is and that somehow it is always expanding.  Now you are one of 6 billion particles on that tiny grain of sand, and for some reason you think everything revolves around you.


 Psalm 8: ⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
       the son of man that you care for him?


yet he does...

Ah, Statistics

It's funny how everyone has research to defend their position.  Today there was an article in Time on Lesbian parents and their high performing kids.

This was my response to the article

It's easy to see the variables in the study that are problematic.  1) self reporting being the most obvious  "the parents agreed to answer questions about their children's social skills, academic performance and behavior at five follow-up times over the 17-year study period. "

2. The study should be compared not to all hetero couples but those who chose artificial insemination due to fertility issues for consistency and as a control.  Obviously choosing this path is intentional parenting and has a great financial investment, therefore better schools opportunity etc.   

3. The finding concerning whether a separation happens is interesting in that it produced no discernible difference.  

 We need to be discerning readers. I know I spend a lot of time reading things other than Scripture. But I find that the more time I spend reading books other that God's Word, even Christian books, especially church books I begin to focus on what I can do and get all these ideas about how to manipulate God's World...for his own good.  So to have hearts and minds aligned with Christ to be able to "give an answer for our hope" we must make the Bible the plumb line, the starting point for all things. Only then will we have  insight into fallen perspectives around us whether they be the lies of evil intent and errors of good intent.  

Money Makes the World Go Round

Money get away
Get a good job with more pay
And your O.K.

Money, it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands
And make a stash

New car, caviar, four star daydream
Think I'll buy me a football team

Money get back
I'm all right Jack
Keep your hands off my stack

Money, it's a hit
Don't give me that
Do goody good bullshit

I'm in the hi-fidelity
First class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet



That's the beginning of the Pink Floyd song if you click through you can hear the rest of it.

Here is another link from Time about paying/bribing kids to do well in school. Honestly, it works.  That is their point, but they have also shown financial incentives to be the most effective motivator in losing weight and other matters that should be dictated by willpower.  Basically, the point we are teaching our kids is the Almighty Dollar is more important than the Almighty God.  That's pretty much how America is set up already, but I think we know there is more to life than stuff.

That's why the church is so important we are commanded to give, of our selves of our money for the sake of others.  Once you can do that, once you can say no to the god of wealth you are free to do anything just cause you want to and not because someone is going to pay  to do it.  Good luck finding people to pay you to lose weight or change whatever your bad habits are when it  isn't a scientific study....