Money is 20th Century

In America, by contrast, we would consider someone strange if they obsessed about a shortage of food, water or clothes because they are “givens” that normal people accept as such. Anyone who drove a car in the early ‘70s will remember the short-term shortage of gas – but, for a sane person, this worry has past! Likewise, we have water not only to drink, but to bathe in, water our lawns, wash our cars with – water is clean and plentiful.

Too much food, not too little as is the developing world’s problem! Many, many more people in the world are physically ravaged by obesity than by malnutrition. We have so many clothes that a “poor” person can buy GOOD clothes at Goodwill for pennies on the dollar. The basics are so common (that is the source of the term “Common Grace”) that, not need, but the “right” brand has become the obsession.

Wisdom is, at some point, looking forward to where we are and where we are going, rather than sitting in the back of life’s station wagon only seeing scenery that has past! For anyone looking around and forward, it is obvious money has had its “run,” its day of glory. Money, indeed, offered some real security in the past. But like the horse and buggy, vital to personal transportation (horse and wagon for commerce) 100 years ago, money is now more often a burden than a blessing.

“But! But!” people will sputter (for not worshipping money is blasphemy in our money-focused society), “You can’t live without money! How can you say it is a burden?” Money, in the same way as food, has become a curse for many people ? instead of consuming and appreciating food in moderation, two-thirds of Americans are now overweight – with the percentage increasing daily! Rather than having money serve us (like water, food and clothes), the tendency is to see it as god and, as a result, bow down to and serve it.

You don’t really have to look too far in the future, the signs are all around – money is not worth the sacrifice most are making for it; it is not a very satisfying and fulfilling god. In 50 years people will look back and laugh at those, in the early 21st Century, that gave and sacrificed so much of themselves to accumulate and hoard money – it will be so obvious then what is so much more important ? they will say: “Money is SO 20th Century!” Oh, they will still use money, but something else will have taken its place as their focus and obsession – the god they will bow down to and serve.

And what will the shortage, obsession and focus be in the 21st Century? Health. Just as food, clothes, water and shelter are “givens,” we are at this point with money – the next frontier is health and its counterpart, longevity of life. But those considering a longer life span still have to face the prospect of death, at some point, unless they think they can achieve an infinite life span (and could you imagine anything much more depressing? ? For the non-Christian, almost as much as the Christian, the only thing more depressing than the prospect of a “dark” eternity, is thinking about having to live physically, here on earth, forever). So, the 21st Century will probably end with significant increases in the longevity of life.

And the great question is, “So? What is a person to do?”

Join the 21st Century early rather than late!

Just as most Americans have significantly, over the years, reduced the time they devote to earning money for food, clothes and other “necessities”, understand the diminishing need to spend so much time making money –foolish people (like squirrels gathering acorns), stay on the rat race because they don’t recognize the alternative – they have not considered what better they can do with some of their time to improve their standard and quality of living far money than making a few more bucks!

Two suggestions would be to contemplate, until it sinks in:

• Money is 20th Century – use it rather than serving it (the Bible has never been so timely on the subject of money as it is today! For 2,000 – 3,000 years, depending on which book of the Bible you are reading, it has said, in effect, money is passé; money has a place, but not as a god).
• Health is important – keep this in perspective and, again, not as a god, but to serve us. We should consider health and do that we can to enhance it – doing what we should (EXERCISE!) while minimizing the obvious impediments to health – not getting consistent and adequate rest, not controlling stress, CONSTANTLY eating junk . . .

So, be the first on your block to understand money is 20th Century and, as a result, join the 21st Century early rather than late!

It may or may not have been true in 1992 that “It’s the economy stupid!” But if someone thinks that is true in 2011 . . ., they are stupid!