Have you ever suffered from buyer's remorse? You know - the concept of when you buy something and then later regret it. I think we all have felt this way to some degree. We need that new iPhone! Well, but I really needed that new car (even though my car was running perfectly fine)! I needed those leather boots. I need, I need, I need. These things will make me feel better if I purchase them. If I upgrade I will be keeping with the current trend. I will feel like I'm keeping up with the Joneses. Do you ever make the purchase and then the new high-tech device, designer shoes, or diamond bracelet lay on the side table, in the back of the closet, unused, or worse yet, *gasp* forgotten?! Or, what if you make the purchase after doing all your reviews and due diligence for smart shopping? You've clipped all the right online coupons. 25% off, free shipping, it's on sale to boot - SCORE! What a smart buyer I am! What a deal I just got!
It all sounds kind of silly and pointless when you put it that way, right? But yet, in our current society, this is the way it is. If you don't feel this materialistic pressure at some point, from peers, from commercials, from your neighbors the aforementioned (and infamous) Joneses, then you are a special creature I tell you! Ok, so big deal. You succumbed to the lure of the shiny new thing. Question for you - Did those purchases make you feel better in the long run? Let's get deep here - did they do anything to satisfy your soul? In my personal experience, that brief moment of joy of opening a new package is short-lived and usually not all it's cracked up to be. The new car smell fades, folks.
Let's take it a step further. If it's not the new gadget craze that has you hooked, what about your retirement and savings funds? How many hours have we spent with financial advisors, on the phone with stock brokers, on a webinar at our job to learn about the new 401K plan? How much time and brain power have we used up to plan for our finances so we can retire? So we can send our kids to college? So we can pay for that boat at the river? For the beach house?
Let me tell you a story. I recently talked to one of my friends about buying a new car and my reluctance. Oh, I would love to have all the bells and whistles of a newer car. Integrated blue tooth! Navigation touch screen! My car is 16 years old and a dinosaur. But, I really don't want another car payment. She just kept saying "You NEED a new car. " But, but, my car is a Honda and hasn't yet hit 200K miles. I owe it to a Honda to at least hit that milestone, right? "You NEED a new car." Ok, ok. I'm sure my friend was just trying to help me with indecision?
Or what about this. My company recently went through a sale where you can invest your company shares in the new owners and hopefully get a return of X amount during the next sale. My thoughts were honestly greedy. If I invest X amount, I will get 3X back in 4-6 years?? Wow, what a great investment!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't get something nice for yourself or your family every now and then when the time is right. It's not wrong to be financially responsible and save for your children and the well-being of your family. But this is the question the Lord prompted me with when I prayed and read His word:
What are you really investing in?
All these hours spent researching, planning, collecting, buying, even hoarding? Does not our Lord Jesus Christ deserve the same amount of investing, if not more? (Certainly more!) More planning, more discussion, more thoughts, more prayer, more focus on Him, with Him.
I am not preaching here. I am the first guilty one over here of not dedicating enough to my Lord and Savior. I have felt regret over old purchases. I have felt like my financial investments were never enough. I have had my first taste of greed of investing in a company and envisioning the dollar signs pop up in future years. And to be perfectly honest, it all feels like rubbish. It's stressful, time-consuming, and one can obsess over it all! On the flip side, I do not feel like my time or money was wasted when I invest in my Lord! Coincidence? I don't think so. Jesus explained it like this:
19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:19-20 NKJV)
Jesus went on to say that you can't serve money and the Lord, both as your masters:
24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24 NKJV)
Guess what I learned in preparing this article? That Jesus repeats the same warning in Luke 16:13 where he says the exact text from Matthew 6:24 (that you cannot serve two masters). I don't know about you but if Jesus said it twice, to me it has a special "Listen up!" connotation attached to that scripture.
This must be why I feel unsatisfied and unfulfilled when I invest in possessions and my retirement plan. It's never enough. Those things won't last. They fade away. They may be even rendered useless one day! A thief steals my new car, or the stock market crashes and all my retirement savings are wiped out. Such things aren't meant to last, and standing on them to attain fulfillment and security in life is like standing on sand when a wave from the ocean rolls in!
My prayer is that we will all take more time with our Lord who is the only retirement plan in this life worth investing in. You want a fail-safe 401K that will last forever? Contact the Lord God ASAP.
"Lord, please help us to wisely invest the money and abilities You and You alone have blessed us with. For we have nothing that doesn't come from You. We pray that we will honor You with our use of these material things, so that You can use them to further Your kingdom while we are here on earth, eagerly awaiting the coming of your Son Jesus Christ, in full glory. Amen!"
Your sister in Christ,
Aimee
(Aimee Andrews is a member of HOPE Church Raleigh)
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