Today’s Scripture Reading (September
10, 2013): Psalm 78
I am convinced
that we know nothing about money. And the reason we know nothing is because we
have never been taught. It is maybe the missing course that everyone should be
required to take in High School. Because we have never heard the lesson, we are
ripe for the lies of the corporate world. The only thing we have been taught
about money has been taught to us by people that want us to give them whatever
money we might have – and that probably does not make them the most objective
of teachers.
A number of
years ago we became concerned, as a nation, with our growing debt. At the time
I remember politicians campaigning on a balanced budget amendment (no, it is
not a new idea – it is actually a very old one.) The idea was well accepted
until people began to realize the cuts that would result from a balanced
budget. And then the message of the people began to change. I remember having a
conversation with one gentlemen who was convinced that a balanced budget would
only be stealing money from the pockets of the people – after all, the money
the country owed had been borrowed from us in the form of the bonds that we had
purchased. I am not sure if the message that the gentlemen gave me was ever
true, but it really isn’t now. The only ones profiting by our debt would seem
to be the country of China. But we still do not know any better, because no one
has taught us. We spend more than we make and allow others to become rich on
our own debt. And there has to be a better way.
The Psalmist
is about to tell the tales of God actions on behalf of Israel. But before he
begins to tell the story, he gives his audience the reason why – he wants to
teach them so that they will not make the same mistakes that their ancestors
made. The idea is that through knowledge, our natural stubbornness and
rebelliousness might be tamed. And the Psalmist is probably right – as long as
we take the lessons seriously.
The act of
learning actually depends on two processes. First, we must be taught. Someone
who knows must take the time to share with us the lesson we need to learn.
There is a belief out there that everything in life must be lived by
experience, but if that is true then we are doomed. We cannot experience all of
the lessons of life and live at the same. We have to be able to learn from the
experiences of others. But after we have learned the lesson, we have to be
willing to live out those lessons. Lessons not lived are wasted. (I took a
Greek/Hebrew course a few months ago and I am dismayed how much of what I learned
I have lost already because I just don’t live out my Greek and Hebrew lessons
in my life.) We have to live what we have learned.
For Israel, that
meant understanding the purpose that God had for the nation – a purpose that
went back to the beginning of the story – and living out those lessons by
trusting God. For our finances, it means learning the hard truth about our
money and being willing to live within our means. Living out life’s lessons are
never easy, but it is required for a successful life.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm
79
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