Sept 12 Message - Wealth and the Value of Money
"He who is of the opinion that money can do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money" - Benjamin Franklin
"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." - Ecclesiastes 5:10
In this era of financial crisis, many are taking a new look at their relationship with material wealth and discovering a healthier perspective between needs and wants.
Call to Worship
Click below. Listen and recite the invocation in Hebrew along with the cantor. Let the words resonate within you and prepare your heart to worship.Opening Hymn
Opening Prayer
Scripture Reading
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Matthew 6: 19-24
22Then Yeshua said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Luke 12: 22-34
Message
Yesterday the United States commemorated the anniversary of September 11th 2001. Most of us who were adults on 9/11/2001 can remember exactly what we were doing on that day eight years ago. Those moments and our reaction to them are preserved intact in our memories. If we bring those memories out again from the recesses of our minds, they are just as fresh as they were on that day. I can remember my own initial horror and then worrying for my children. I was concerned about how the graphic television coverage would effect them. I can recall precisely every detail of the look on my son's face as he turned from the TV and said, " Mom, the world is never going to be the same again, is it?" As I think of that moment, I feel the same hallow feeling in my stomach that I had that day, trying to think of some way to reassure him.
On that day, we were reminded of the one of the innate core values of humanity...the sacredness of life. All major religions recognize living beings as a manifestation or creation of the Divine Presence. Therefore, life...our sense of being...our presence in this universe...is a gift from above. That is why Sept 11 was so shocking. That is why those moments are etched so deeply into our psyche. We watched helplessly in horror as thousands of human lives were ended needlessly.
Sept 11, 2001 was not the first example in history where many lives were sacrificed without cause. Some, such as the holocaust of World War ll, were tragedies of much greater proportions. There have also been many other instances of misguided disregard for life in the name of God. The Spanish inquisition, the crusades and the "witch hunts" of Salem are just a few examples that come to my mind. The destruction of the World Trade Center was only unique because this was the first time such an event was televised live.
Edmund Burke, a famous British philosopher, stated that "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it". Our Mother and Father created this world as a cosmic school for souls. The task of each individual and humanity as a whole is to learn and grow from mistakes. So what are the lessons of 9/11 and all the other past mass slaughters? Well, the primary lesson is to have proper values and motives. James 4 states that fights and quarrels among men are the results of wrong desires and motives. Wars and mass murder occur when misguided individuals place a greater value on their ideology or power, or money than on human lives. As we read in the scriptures above, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
So how do we cultivate the correct values in our society? Yeshua stated that the first and most important law was to love the Lord with all of our heart and mind and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. So, according to Yeshua, our highest priority is to love God/Goddess and each other. This is where we should place our highest value. In all we do, in all we say, value God and others as much as we value ourselves.
One of the results of tragedy is it causes us to reassess our values. When a house is on fire the first instinct is to get what you treasure and run. We hold close to us what is truly important. Here is a question for you. On September 11th, 2001 did you think about your bank account or your new car or your wardrobe? Probably not. My first thought was for my children. Then, when I heard about the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, I immediately thought of my brother who worked in the Pentagon at that time. Then, like many Americans, I thought, " What can I do to help?" People are what became important...not money, not things.
September 11th provides an interesting contrast to our most recent national crisis. This past year we have experienced a different type of loss. This crisis was all about money and physical possessions. Many people lost houses or jobs. In the midst of all the loss, many of us learned a valuable lesson. The things we acquired were really not that important.
There is an old saying...money can't buy happiness. That is only partially true. Money CAN buy a certain basic form of happiness. It is hard to be happy when starving or cold. But after the certain basic survival needs are met, more money does not make a person more happy. In fact, sometimes after that point there is an inverse relationship. More money equals more possessions which then creates more obligation and more stress in order to maintain the things.
During the past year, I was living in California which was the epicenter of the mortgage crisis. Before I left California, the unemployment rate had risen to about 11 percent. I had the privilege of providing medical care to many recently unemployed individuals. Many of my patients lost their houses to foreclosure. Some were scrambling to sell cars and other possessions to make ends meet. Just about everyone of my patients were at a point in their lives where they were reevaluating what was important and what was expendable in their lives. It was often painful to watch the stages of grieving and loss. But often it was inspiring as well. As my patients lost things and realized the things weren't that important, they grew and became stronger. Some felt freed after the huge mortgage payment was gone. Some learned how much they valued their families or spouses. All who were able to let go were transformed.
The economists say that the American public is not spending like we were before this crisis. Some are worried that we will never spend like we did before. I hope we don't. I hope we have learned the lesson. I hope we have learned that things...possessions... are not the basis of our wealth and security. I hope that we have learned that we should be placing less value on money and the pursuit of money and more value on caring for each other. "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God and all these things....all the things you need...all the things necessary for happiness and life and fulfillment... will be added unto you.
