Hey, Buddy, Got A Dollar?

Isaiah 55:1-5

During a workshop I attended this past summer, the topic of how we know what is important to an organization. We were told not to watch commercials on TV or listen to the words on the radio. We were also reminded not to only look at the words and actions of the leaders or representatives of the organization.  What we were told was to look at how that organization spends its money.

Where their money is, we were told, is where their heart is.

The speaker went on to give us just one example. Last year the United States spent 4% of its budget on education, while it spent 21% of its budget on military defense. Seems a little lopsided to me.

This kind of financial decision-making also makes its way into our society. I know of families whose parents drive expensive SUVs and wear nice jewelry, making sure their kids wear $150 pair of shoes and $50 tshirts, while at the same time their kids don't have any money for lunch or come to school with basic school supplies. It seems we've become a people where how we look to others is more important than what we can do for others, or ourselves.

Please don't take me the wrong way. I'm all for consumerism, it's the basis for our economy. All I'm trying to say is that we might want to prioritize how we spend that money. Our kids need a good education and they need to be able to eat a healthy meal during the school day to keep their energy up. In the same way, there are people in our society who need things so as to simply have a basic living; such as housing, clothes, and medical assistance.

I mean, why should we spend our money on the things that really don't matter.