Pastor's Message

Pastor's Message

In For A Penny?

September 2007

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

I had lunch with one of the children I pastored in Lancaster back in the 90s. He is quite grown up now and an investment counselor. Our conversation was most enlightening, and just a little frightening, because he told me what he does as an investment counselor - managing resources, identifying goals and needs, and imagining trends into the future. Listening to all this was a little frightening, as I said, because, though I do not consider myself a slouch where money is concerned, I was confronted once more with the reality that the financial issues with which I concern myself as a layperson a few times a year, are issues that employ legions of gifted, educated, full-time professionals.
The conversation continued through high-risk and low-risk asset allocations and it struck me all at once that my life has been an investment. I spent time with this young man when he was a child talking about what is good, beautiful, and just. We may live with the delusion that all we have to invest is money, but money may be the least of our investments. The years have not diminished the sound - I continue to hear belting in my ears "Time is money!" shouted by my construction crew boss. Perhaps, until one has run out of time and then money means nothing at all. When we think about our lives in terms of the gifts God has given us and how we can spend those, we may be as wealthy as wealthy can be. Which begs the question: how are you investing your life?
I have been reading about dramatic shifts in attitudes among younger generations toward nearly everything from sexuality to family to work to money. The members of younger generations, are not as interested, evidently, in money as the generations preceding them. Most accept as fact that they will never be as well off financially as their parents. What they want is a meaningful life.

I am convinced that our youths are more creative and adept at bringing meaning to the gift of the life God has given them. Where adults may have grown up in generations of verity, or come of age in generations that saw the unveiling of corruption and the dissolution of institutions and absolutes, our youths have no memory of these structures whatever. What attracts most of these young people to churches are opportunities for mission and service to others. Many of them know that such opportunities are sources of joy. Joy comes from within and has to do with love. Love is our greatest resource, and the people we love are our longest term investment.
In her book Time, Karen H. Whiting uses scripture quotes relating to time and provides suggestions to help people better manage it and increase the quality of family time. One of the entries focuses on what families can do together and begins with the following quote:

Impress them(the utterances of God) on your children. Talk about them when you sit

at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Deuteronomy 6:7

These words reveal an expectation that families spend time together; time together sitting, resting, walking, going to bed and waking up. More and more studies of school children show that the greatest factor for good grades and preventing teen problems is eating meals with one's family at least five days every week. This is further confirmation of what seven millennia of civilization have proven this foundational truth.

What Jesus knew to be true, he lived out, even to the cross. Jesus invites us to love one another as he has loved us. There is no greater investment we can make in this life than the investment we make in those we love. God's love, shown in the example of Jesus Christ is what the Church is about. Here is our investment counselor, and this love our greatest resource.

Happy investing,