Money
“You can not serve both God and money” Mathew 6:24
“It’s all about money” my dad would constantly reiterate “everything has to be paid for.” Then go on at great length to explain how his philosophy applied to the world around us. Early into the steps I found my self in an argument with my mom about this.
“It’s not all about money mum.”
“You cant live without money James.”
“You go from one extreme to the other. Did I say I could live without money? I can’t even manage with just the doll myself. But there are people that manage with no money at all.”
“Well who?”
“Like Aborigines out there in Aborigine land.”
“Aborigines get the doll.”
“Not if they don’t ask for it, a lot of the aborigines out there in Arnhemland and the like just won’t touch the stuff. They recon it leads to smoking and drinking and bad behaviour and greed.”
“Well how do they do that?”
“How should I know, but I know they exist.”
“Who do you know that lives like that.”
“People I’ve spoken to, know people like that. I’ve met aborigines that can live on absolutely stuff all. They’re in Darwin, they want to go visit some cousin in New South Wales, they just don’t spend any money for a month and off they go.”
“Well how do they do that?”
“How should I know, I’m not an Aboriginal!”
“I don’t understand how you could live without money James.”
“Neither do I, but I’m kinda envious of those who do. I can’t manage without money, the churches can’t manage without money, I don’t know any one who can manage with out at least a little money. But It’s not all about money.”
“As your father says “Money can’t buy you happiness but you can be miserable in comfort.”
“Miserable in comfort, that describes my experience of money to a T! At the end of your life here on this Earth, when you go to meet your maker, you won’t be looking at how much money you made. You will be looking at what you did with your time, how you treated other people, how you felt about your self, what you believed in and stuff like that. And it’s clear in just about all the religions, don’t love money, all you can expect from it is misery.”
“I don’t understand.”
And who does understand money? It baffles me, as an artist I get money from here and there and everywhere. People are often curious as to how one makes a living out of art. Well to tell you the truth us artists don’t understand it our selves, but we are glad we can do it.
There are different kinds of money, how it comes in, how often, how much and how you earn it are going to change how it is valued. Few people value money, they value what it can buy. What we choose to spend our money on reflects what we value, our personal aesthetic. At this point the value of money becomes a little esoteric.
There is this thing grass and it has this quality green, that is something we all share, regardless our personal aesthetic. But how we feel about the grass differs from one person to the next. Take a large area of green grass, one person walks past and hardly notices it’s there, the next walks past and thinks “That would be a nice place for a picnic” another walks past and thinks “What a waist, that would make a great development.”
Money exits in reality and it is a reality most of us have to accept. Money is a means to an end, a tool, like a blade. Used wisely it can help provide you with what you need, used unwisely, people can get hurt. In matters of money, pray for wisdom in how you get it and how you use it.
“Take nothing for the journey – no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.” Luke 9:3
This is the instruction Jesus gave his disciples when he sent them out to spread the good news. Mind you, these people could perform miracles, they could heal the sick, cast out daemons and Jesus had twice shown them how to feed thousands with stuff all. Until Jesus turns up and shows us how to perform miracles again, we are just going to have to live with money.
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” 1Timothy 6:10
This chapter starts off with a warning to the slaves, to be respectful of their masters. Then goes on at great length to warn the rich against letting money corrupt their faith. He warns that those who “who think godliness is a means to financial gain” have an “unhealthy interest.”
The apostles didn’t have such an easy time of it with money as the disciples. They needed the stuff and the churches that sprang up in the Mediterranean were expected to send money to the church in Jerusalem. The members of the church in Jerusalem were expected to give all their wealth to the church and live off what the church handed out.
These days most Christians keep most of their wealth. For the most part the churches give little to any one. Just a few specialise in giving to the poor, then only in times of great need. Instead, those of us that can afford too, pay taxes and the government takes care of the poor and needy. And why not, they do a much better job of it than the church ever did. We have a government deeply enriched by Christian values. When our politicians swear allegiance to queen and country, they do so before God in a church on a Bible. I’m not saying all our elected members of parliament are walking with Christ. But we have a system of government that has been built on sound Christian values. These days we heal the sick, treat the insane, give to the poor, treat the single mothers well. We do with our money as Jesus said we should and we have a better world for it.
For those who work hard and pay taxes; be grateful you are paid enough to pay tax. Look at all the good things that come with being a part of the modern Australian society you contribute too. A society where even the beggars get a fair go. You have so much and you want more. And you are convinced you would have more if it weren’t for those bludgers on welfare. Don’t think you couldn’t end up disabled, or your children. There are very few that really want to bludge; the vast majority on welfare would gladly give it in for a suitable job. Your lifestyle would not be improved if those people were desperate and walking the streets.
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Clown Artist Philosopher 