Do I pray about the money I spend?
It's an old joke that the last part of a Yorkshireman to be converted is the wallet. It's true for people who come from elsewhere too - how we spend our money says a lot about our priorities.
The Holy Club placed a high priority on living simply (not just within our means, but in a way that enables us to bless others).
What does living simply look like? In part, its about determining priorities.
A cell church I worked with some years ago defined priorities like this:
- Our first commitment is to following Jesus and acknowledging him as Lord in every area of life.
- Our second commitment is to our family - being good husbands/wives/children/parents. This means making time to be a family in the room together (without TV, tablets or smartphones) and helping one another to become who we were created to be. Sometimes this also means restoring broken relationships in our families too.
- Our third commitment is to our Christian community, our local church
Is it that simple? It's harder to do than to write down. These three priorities don't mention 'loving our neighbour as ourselves', nor do they take into account the often difficult relationships in families today.
Its very easy to put church above family, but by doing so we forget that the primary worshipping group in Old and New Testaments is the family or household. The passover meal that we'll soon be remembering was the highlight of the spiritual year and was celebrated in the home, not the synagogue.
Nor do they mention work - for some people work is a vocation, for others its a necessary inconvenience. Our employers often think work should be the number one priority. Are they right? Its especially difficult when your boss is the Church!
II think my friends got it right and when we get the three priorities above properly in their places, everything else finds its proper place too.
Its very easy to put church above family, but by doing so we forget that the primary worshipping group in Old and New Testaments is the family or household. The passover meal that we'll soon be remembering was the highlight of the spiritual year and was celebrated in the home, not the synagogue.
Nor do they mention work - for some people work is a vocation, for others its a necessary inconvenience. Our employers often think work should be the number one priority. Are they right? Its especially difficult when your boss is the Church!
II think my friends got it right and when we get the three priorities above properly in their places, everything else finds its proper place too.
Bible passage to meditate on Matthew 6:19-24
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