Money – Naty Matos

Not too long ago, I was sitting by the entrance of one of my favorite restaurants waiting for takeout. I usually dine in and hadn’t paid much attention to my surroundings. The place is clean, good customer service and superb food, nothing to complaint about. This particular day, while having the opportunity to seat there and with nothing more to do than look around (my phone battery was low); I noticed something I had never noticed before. Right behind the bar was an altar to a god. Something inside of me didn’t feel right. Here I was picking up lunch and now I had a dilemma, where am I investing my resources?

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24

If we look at social media and regular media, the world has decided that our belief system should accompany our support as patrons to different businesses. If you agree with their policies and their beliefs, we support you, if we disagree, we don’t. That’s actually a great concept.

Many remember the issue with Chic-fil-a a few years ago. A sector of the population disagreed with their views and decided to stop eating there. Others who didn’t even eat there, decided to do so out of principle. Walmart has had the same issues, where some people support them and others not due to their practices.

Which way you decide to go is a decision between you and God.

However, my experience at that restaurant has left me thinking, what businesses do I support? And by support I mean where I spend my money? As a believer, I’m responsible for administrating the resources I’m provided, which are not mine, are for kingdom purposes. “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. ” Luke 12:34 I will be held responsible for how I used them. No, I’m not cutting everything out of my life, but I’m more aware of the things I do and allowing the Holy Spirit to let me know, where I need to go to do what?

You may be asking why you chose Starbucks on your title. Do you have something against them? Aside from the overpriced coffee, not really, I actually love their soy chai latte. But for the last few weeks I have not been able to stop looking at their logo and decided to look into what it meant. It did look like a Hindu goddess to me, but in researching, Starbucks says she’s a siren. A seductive siren…

CEO Howard Shultz has explained the following: “The mermaid was exotic. She was also topless. At first, and despite some complaints, Starbucks just rolled with it. As Schultz later explained, “Bare breasted and Rubenesque, [the mermaid] was supposed to be as seductive as the coffee itself.” But then the time came to put the logo on the delivery trucks, and that was problematic. “The logo was huge,” Heckler’s website relates, “—and so were the mermaid’s breasts.”

Are they selling coffee or sex?

In the Starbucks website the same man describes her as follows:

She is a storyteller, carrying the lore of Starbucks ahead, and remembering our past. In a lot of ways, she’s a muse –always there, inspiring us and pushing us ahead.

And she’s a promise too, inviting all of us to find what we’re looking for, even if it’s something we haven’t even imagined yet.

She means something different to everyone who sees her, who knows her. For me she’s kind of the final say on the spirit of everything I write and everything we do. Even as I’m writing this, I wonder what she thinks. (She likes it, by the way.)

That’s interesting…

Am I launching a campaign against Starbucks? No. I’m just trying to demonstrate a point, which is… There’s a lot that we do in auto pilot without knowing what and who we are really supporting. We should take pause in our lives and see where and how we are investing the resources that were entrusted in us.

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8

Food for thought

I was driving the other day through a main street. Sitting in traffic all you can do is look around and see the businesses on both sides of the street and it had me thinking about the power that money has in our lives.

puppet

We’ve heard say in Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” and I can almost hear readers saying that’s not me, because…insert your reason.

The recent economy changes have demonstrated the power that money has in our lives. Some people lost their jobs, or their hours were decreased. The health insurance premiums became higher. Some lost their residence or vehicles. Crime rates increased, especially around the holidays. This happens when people get desperate trying to provide, to obtain things the “easy way” or attempting to maintain their lifestyles.

Some people think that they don’t serve money because they don’t have much. Take that little away or even attempt and you will see a different side of the same person. In corporate America we see people, including Christians, gossiping, forming alliances, gathering Intel to secure their positions, gain favor with their bosses or even get to higher grounds without doing the work.

Some people say that they don’t serve money because they are charitable. The question is the motive behind the pockets contribution. Is it to get a tax break, to get recognition within an organization (church or socially)? Do we give what’s left or what we have?

If we think about it most prayers are for provision: a car, a house, a job, a raise, the vacation I haven’t taken in a while.

As long as we are comfortable, we believe that we don’t serve money. When money is lacking, we realize how painful it is to be without it. Money is one of the main reasons for divorce. It’s the primary reason why friendships and partnerships break. It’s a reason to go to jail. It’s a reason why families fight and stop talking to each other.

Let’s start this year doing a real evaluation on our lives and being honest with ourselves on how much hold and power that master (money) has on our lives.

Until then,

Be blessed!

wealth