James 1:9-11

James 1:9-11
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  I saw a tip this morning on Facebook from Car & Driver -- it said to be sure to include your helicopter in the background when you photograph your Bentley, proven with a well-arranged photo demonstrating the proper way to do this.
  Money is a powerful force in the world.  We often organize our own goals around striving for more of it, or protecting it, or just making sure we have enough of it.  If we're running short of money, that will often effect so much of our life, from our mood to our physical stress.  We're often caught dreaming about what we would do if we had a lot of money, to the point that it can become on obsession.
  In the divine economy, however, our money can't buy us more of God's love.  God doesn't love us more or less depending on our bank account, and the grace and peace God offers to us cannot be purchased by even the most exclusive credit card.  When we approach God in the finality of death, our worth is not determined by the amount of money we have saved, but rather by the sacrifice of a innocent man made thousands of years before we lived.
  So let us be grateful for the reminders in our lives that give us the chance to reflect on the fact that our ultimate worth before God is not about money, and may this reminder help us not hold so tightly to our money.  May we recognize that it is a gift, however much we have, and that we are charged to use it wisely, glorifying God in all we do.