BMW?

"How do they do it?" asked my husband, Dan. He tossed his keys down and slumped into his old, forest green recliner, a relic from his bachelor days that he's insisted we keep when we got married. "They must have inherited money. Honestly, do you think they make more than we do?"

I sighed. We'd just gotten home from a part at a friend's house. We had this conversation, or versions of it, all the time.
I guess it all started when we got involved in our church's young marrieds group. The people were very nice-and extremely successful. Although we were all in our early thirties. I couldn't believe my eyes when I say one couple's lakeside home. They had all the toys-a boat and a jet ski in the boathouse (nearly as big as our house at the time) and a premium-packaged Tahoe in the three-car garage.

Once Dan and I started spending time with our new, affluent friends, our life didn't seem all that great anymore. Our modest, three-bedroom ranch felt cramped. Our used Honda looked cheap. I cringed when I looked at that old recliner and the rest of our hand-me-down furniture, which prior to visiting "Trump Tower Lakeside" had been tolerable (strictly functional, but tolerable). Our old TV with giant rabbit ears just couldn't compare with Tom and Kris's state-of-the-art entertainment system.

So every time the topic came up, we spend a good hour or so arguing. "Just because nearly everyone in our class shows off how rich they are doesn't mean we ought to run out and buy something we can't afford," I snapped at Dan.
"I make good money, Lauren," Dan shot back. "We could get financed for a fancy new home, you know, if that's what we wanted."

And so we did. Six months later, we moved from our affordable home to a new community near the lake with a gorgeous view from the front porch of our Georgian colonial. It wasn't more than our friends had;it was just more than we'd ever had. It was bigger than our parents' homes!

We agreed we wouldn't take a vacation that summer. But we can't take one next summer either because we're so behind on our payments. We do more than a little finagling to get the checkbook in balance most months. We're finally fitting in with our friends' lifestyles. I just hope we can keep the pace.
-Lauren


Would Jesus drive a BMW?
That question has floated around in the Christian community and even in an environmentalist ad campaign. Regardless of what you think about Jesus' supposed motor vehicle of choice, the rood issue is this: "What should Christians do with their money?" No doubt, money-either the lack of it or its abundance-conditions our lifestyle choices. The temptation is to think that we're not successful until we have a large home, drive a nice car, put our kids in the best private schools and taking exciting vacations to Aruba. Sadly, many of us are willing to rick our future well-being and financial freedom in order to be happy today, at any price.

The Bible says the world clamors and "runs" after all it can grab in this life (see Luke 12:29-30). Those who are committed to Jesus have to make counter-cultural choices in their lifestyles. Emulating Jesus' lifestyle does not necessarily mean pursuing poverty (as if by it one is inherently more spiritual). It means internally identifying with the overarching themes of his life. Consider the themes of Jesus' life:

• Contentment
• Outrageous generosity
• Impenetrable joy
• Unselfishness

These characteristics, not dollar signs, are the primary distinctions between Jesus' lifestyle verses the way the world lives.
Deciding you're not going to live like the rest of the world-even if you can afford it-is that much more difficult when you realize that Jesus is talking about a change of heart. Trading in a new BMW for a used Honda is much easier than taking a realistic look behind what is driving your lifestyle choices. Your attitude toward money, not what's in your garage, is one of the quickest external indicators of your inward commitment.
-True Identity Bible

"In our media-saturated culture, people can see, in agonizing detail, all the expensive things they will never possess. This may make what a typical person possesses seem insufficient, even if the person is one of the tens of millions of Americans living, by the standards of history, in unprecedented comfort and freedom." -Gregg Easterbrook

-Deuteronomy 8:10-18
10 When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.
12 For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in,
13 and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! 14 Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.
15 Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock!
16 He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good.
17 He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’
18 Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.

-Matthew 19:23-29
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
24 I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
25 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.
26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”
27 Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?”
28 Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.

-1 Corinthians 3:12-13
12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.
13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.

-Hebrews 13:5
Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”