No. 424 - MONEY IS NOT EVERYTHING

No. 424
Jim Davidson·NEWSPAPER COLUMN

MONEY IS NOT EVERYTHING

It has been said that money is not everything, but it sure beats whatâs in second place! There is little doubt that in todayâs society money is a very useful tool. Some people pray for it, others gamble for it, still others work for it and a few even kill for it. The Greek teacher and philosopher Aristotle once said, ãMoney is a guarantee that we may have what we want in the future. Though we need nothing at the moment, it insures the possibility of satisfying a necessary desire when it arrives.ä There have been thousands upon thousands of books and articles written about money and its many uses and there will be countless others written in the future.

The subject of money is inexhaustible, but today I want to tell you a true story about a young lady who thought that money was much higher up on the list of her priorities than it actually was. As a result, she took a job that paid a lot more money, with a prestigious company that was located in nearby Little Rock. As a result, she had to travel a much greater distance from her home each day. However after several months on this new job, while earning a lot more money, she came to the conclusion that money was not everything, at least to her.

The reason I wanted to share her story with you is because I suspect there are thousands of other people across this great country that find themselves in a similar situation. To begin, here is a question for you to ponder. While we all need a certain amount of money to live the way we want to live, beyond that, what good is money if we are unhappy? In the case of this young lady, here is what actually happened. She was lured away from her old job where she had friends, was really involved it the community and was able to spend a lot more time with her young son. This, coupled with the fact that she was driving a much greater distance to work each day in heavy traffic, which extended the number of hours she was away from home.

To make a long story short, she finally realized that she had made a poor choice and since her old job was still open, she went back to it. To me this shows a lot of maturity on her part. Many people would have let pride get in the way and stayed on the higher paying job and been miserable. Do you know anyone like this? If you do, please share this true story with them, because what she did about her situation could be an example and also provide the courage they need to make a change.

Before I paint with a brush that is too broad, there were several other factors that played a part in this young ladyâs decision. First, she is happily married to a man who earns a good income. This means that she did not have the financial pressure that many people face. On the other hand, many people are trapped in jobs they hate because the prospects of finding another job that will meet their financial obligations are not easy. Next is too much personal debt. Like this young couple, those people who are relatively debt free, can make decisions about a job or career change that are not afforded to those who are in debt up to their eyeballs. .

The answer, of course, is to get out of debt, over time, and have the flexibility to find a job where we are happy and do not have the financial pressure that confronts millions of people in our nation today. With these things said, I would like to return to my earlier statement, ãMoney is not everything.ä To make this statement accurate, allow me to add these three words. Money is not everything FOR SOME PEOPLE. Unfortunately, it is ãeverythingä for a lot of others. In reality, the amount of money we need depends on what is important to us.

We all know or have known people that money was their god. Here Iâm going to make a statement that you may disagree with and it may even make you angry. As a general rule, money is more important to people who are insecure, shallow and who are trying to win the approval of others. The reason I can make this statement is because I lived this way for most of my life. When I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ, money was not nearly as important to me and as a result, Iâve been blessed more in the area of money than ever before.

Over the past several weeks I have gotten to know a man by the name of Kirk Jordan, who is a wonderful photographer and writer. He has a ministry of taking pictures of wildflowers, sunsets, trees, lakes and rivers and anything that is part of Godâs creation. He often emails them to me, along with his poetry and descriptions of his subject matter. Some mornings my computer screen opens up to a portion of his work and it is ablaze with brilliant hues of color. Breathtaking! Like I said earlier, money is not everything. Itâs really a matter of whatâs important to us. (Jim Davidson is a motivational speaker and syndicated columnist. You may contact him at 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)