Hope for your financial life and beyond

How to Eat, Drink and Be Merry the Right Way (Luke 12:13-21)

October 1, 2015 by 7 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #98 – “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink and be merry.” – Luke 12:19

eat drink and be merry“Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die” is a popular refrain you may have felt or expressed at some point in your life. If you are like me maybe you said it as a joke when you were downing a pint of ice cream swirled with chocolate sauce. As some in recent years have expressed, “You only live once, right?”

Truth is there is great seriousness in the statement and the consequences of adopting this attitude are serious.

There are two basic elements to the “eat, drink and be merry” philosophy towards life:

1) we are all going to die, sooner rather than later and…

2) since #1 is true, then we should live for the moment, enjoying whatever pleasures we can.

But the issue goes even deeper than those two concepts. When we opt for the eat, drink and be merry philosophy we are choosing laziness, neglect of our responsibilities and a forfeiture of the future. We are resting on what we have accomplished and counting on that to sustain us indefinitely.

You may not know the phrase has its origins in the Bible, taken from a story Jesus told of a rich fool.

The Parable of the Rich Fool

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If You Give Like This God Will Be Laughing

June 19, 2015 by 4 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #91 – “So let each of you give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” – II Corinthians 9:7

For some it’s the most boring part of the Sunday morning worship service. We think the preaching is OK and the music is fine. We even tolerate the meet and greet. But this 2-3 minute event many would just assume skip like the commercials on a DVR.

god loves a cheerful giverWhat am I referring to?

The moment when we give money to the church, otherwise known as the offering.

There are varying reactions to the offering, depending on your background. When I was growing up it was like halftime. Our Sunday morning equation followed this pattern: music – announcements – offering – more serious music – message – benediction (i.e. endless stanzas of “Just As I Am”).

So for me it was a break in the service. I’d spend the three minutes whispering to my friends, going to the bathroom or checking out the cute girl in pew three. Anything but giving.

As the teen years passed into early adulthood, some maturity began to take hold. I realized the value in these moments that take place during the service and did my best to honor them. But at times I’d still get mixed up in the wrong feelings and motivations about giving, feelings that I know are common with believers.

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Proof It’s the Thought That Counts

October 3, 2014 by 13 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #58 – “Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.” – Acts 11:29 

two penniesThe reign of Claudius Caesar, the fifth Emperor of Rome, was marked by a series of famines. Several touched the city of Rome, one occurred in Greece and another impacted the countryside of Judea in Israel. It is to the last famine listed that the Bible specifically speaks.

We are told that when this famine in Judea occurred, the leaders of the church decided to send assistance to the region. We can only assume this meant food and supplies, as money would have been quite useless during a time when there was so little to buy. Once accumulated, the supplies were sent to those in need by the hands of the missionaries Paul and Barnabas.

What’s remarkable is that there was no squabbling on who was sending what or how much. The Bible says each person determined to send relief “according to his ability.” In other words, people gave what they could – some gave more…others less.

Thus proving that when giving it’s the thought that counts.

Taking Their Cue From a Poor Widow

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A Weekly Roundup: The Snowman Edition

February 1, 2014 by 11 Comments

Snowman 1I haven’t done one of these weekly roundups recently, but I had some extra time on my hands Wednesday through Friday due to the extreme weather in Atlanta. In case you missed the news, Atlanta received 2-3 inches of snow on Tuesday. It crippled the interstate system leaving many stranded overnight on the roads. There were even some kids who had to spend a night or two at school because they couldn’t make it home.

I wrote about how it created panic, excitement and pressure in my Wednesday post.

Consequently, we had three days off of school, due to the snow and extremely cold nighttime temperatures which turned all the melting snow into ice.  That allowed me to have some awesome time with the kids and also the wife who worked from home for two days. While Mrs. Luke1428 churned out tax returns, the kids and I played around the house, watched some movies and built the snowman pictured here.

Yes, we used real charcoal for the shirt buttons and Toll House chocolate chips to make the outline of the mouth. A few other added accessories like a white bow tie just above the scarf and voilà…a perfect snowman…Georgia style.

His name is Olaf or Bob depending on which child of mine you are talking with. My kids ask for your help in settling the “snowman-name-dispute” – would you name him Olaf or Bob? Share your vote in the comments section below.

In addition to our snowman construction (and multiple snowball fights), I had a little more time than normal to read this week. Here are some reads I found useful:

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