Good morning and happy Saturday. It looks to be another pleasant day with the high near 100 and an excessive heat warning. I wonder if the day or two we were without power will offset the cost of the AC during this month. I am guessing that it will not. Btw, I saw the lead-in to an article about how the new mega battery plant in De Soto will use so much power that Evergy wants to raise our rates. That should help out our household budgets. Maybe we are supposed to feel good about underwriting the cost of saving the planet through the manufacture of batteries for EV’s. As you are well aware, with the inflation that we have experienced, the cost of virtually everything has gone up. It makes it all the more imperative that we spend our money wisely. Household finances are being stretched to the breaking point. That is why each of us need to have a budget to help us plan.
I was reading an article about the economy one day when I discovered a term that I had not heard before. The economist wrote, “We live in the moment and thus have become ‘momentarians’ – a people who live for the day at the expense of the future.” He was writing in regards to overspending on entitlements and other things that will likely cause the entire economy huge problems in the future. However, the same thing is true of people in their personal budgets as well. Impulse spending, not having a budget (also known as a predetermined spending plan), and not saving for the future, will end up causing you problems in the future. Living for the momentum at the expense of the future. It can and will cause pain later on in the area of finances.
However, the same is true in many other areas as well. Overeating, not taking care of your health, and a lack of exercise will affect your future. Remember the old adage, “a stitch in time saves nine”? Even though there aren’t too many people that are mending their clothes these days, the wisdom still prevails. If you don’t take care of something when it has a small issue it can become a much bigger deal later on. Try letting the maintenance on you house or car go for a long while and see how that goes. All of these type of things happen when we live for the moment and put off things that should be done.
The one area that this can manifest itself is in our spiritual life. If you think about it, sin is living for the moment without regard for the future consequences. Sin always has an impact on our relationship with God and with others for that matter. And yet we often ignore that in order to live for the moment. The same is true when we put the things of the world ahead of the things of God. We all know that we are supposed to be reading the Bible, praying, thinking about and talking about the Word, gathering together as a body in worship, serving the Lord in the church and the community, all with the express purpose of living for the glory of God. And yet, what prevents us from doing that on a consistent basis? We too often get caught up in living in the moments of this world and lose sight of the things that are eternal.
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Fatheris not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17).
Let me encourage you this morning – make every moment count. Live in light of eternity.
Larry
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