Rethinking Wants vs. Needs

Here’s my admission: As I write this blog—and entreat your comments as readers—I will also be writing the newest in my series of Grace on the Go books: It’s entitled Grace on the Go: Powerful Prayers to Ease Money Worries.
As I blog, I hope to share my own ideas and also receive your good ideas about ways we can change our consciousness about money—in a positive way.
Scripture says, “As a man (or woman) thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7). So I suggest that the first thing anyone caught in financial turmoil should do is re-think.
I come from a Christian background, but even those who don’t will acknowledge Jesus as a great Teacher, and he encouraged his followers to live free of worry about money. He promised that if they would seek the kingdom of God, all else that they needed would be theirs as well.
From China, the ancient Tao te Ching says, “If you realize you have enough, you are truly rich.”
Whoa, here’s the rub. Notice the operative words:
“All that you need.”
And, “Realizing you have enough.”
How do those two concepts square with our consumer-driven culture? For many years, I did my share of bowing before the Consumer Goddess. I didn’t over-spend, but I never became comfortable with just what I had. As I ruefully told a friend one day: “I drive through Mission Hills (our city’s best neighborhood) and think, ‘Wasn’t I supposed to live here?’”
The reality was, I lived in a perfectly comfortable house. I didn’t need to live in Mission Hills. Living in the “best” neighborhood was simply an ego-driven desire.
Part of my life’s journey has been to learn
o How to put the kingdom of God first as a goal.
o How to recognize and be content that I have enough.
How about you? Where are you on the journey?

What does "grace" have to do with money?

Here’s my confession: As I write this blog—and entreat your comments as readers—I will also be writing the newest in my series of Grace on the Go books: It’s entitled Grace on the Go: Powerful Prayers to Ease Money Worries.
As I blog, I hope to share my own ideas and also receive your good ideas about ways we can change our consciousness about money. Isn’t that part of prayer?
“As a man (or woman) thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7).
So I suggest the first thing anyone who is caught in financial turmoil should do is re-think.
I come from a Christian background, but even those who don’t will acknowledge Jesus as a great Teacher, and he encouraged his followers to live free of worry about money. He promised that if they would seek the kingdom of God, all else that they needed would be theirs as well. (The Tao says, “If you realize you have enough, you are truly rich.”)
What is God’s kingdom? Author Richard McBrien says, “We find God’s kingdom in everyday personal experiences. Whenever people show love to one another, forgive one another, or bear one another’s burdens, there is God’s kingdom.”
Here’s what I’ve noticed—and I imagine you have too: when things get scarce--when we get scared that we might not have enough—the ideas behind “loving one another” may go right out the window. Suddenly, we’re most concerned about ourselves. How do I keep what I have? How do I get more before it disappears?
I titled this blog, “92 best ideas” and my second idea is probably the hardest to implement because it involves faith. Not faith in some religious doctrine, but faith in the laws of the universe, and one of those laws says, “There is a cycle of giving-and-receiving. As you give, you will receive. "