Day 9 money

 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt 6 :19-21 )

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke (12 18-21)

I know the pension age keeps moving like a flag in the wind and we might all have to be working until we are 80 before we get it.... but at some point we are all going to be pensioners. And I dont know about you, but the awareness of this fact has made me more focused on finances than I have been for many a year.

Most of us will have various financial matters to consider at this stage in our lives.  We have probably just about done with the costs of university/college fees (if we have got kids who have done that).  We have probably been working hard to pay off the mortgage so that we dont have to worry about that when we stop work.  We might have already stopped work, retired, or cut back on hours recently.  We might be checking when policies mature and what we will have to live on in the future.  We've perhaps inherited from our parents.  There's alot to consider

Ive recently been challenged by the things Jesus says about money.   When I was a young Christian I was super generous with the very little I had and I was totally prepared to do what God said and go where He told me to go.  I didnt have much, so giving it up didnt feel too daunting.   Now however, at a time in my life where I might well have the freedom once again to ' go'  and to 'do' for Jesus I am encumbered with 'stuff'.    If I heard Him tell me to sell it all and give it to the poor today........ it would be hard.   Not impossible, but definitely hard.   Partly that is because I am now married and my financial decisions are not solely my own to make.  But also because the world is screaming at me that I need to provide for my future security.  I need a funeral plan.  I need to leave my kids an inheritance.  I need to be able to pay for a care home if I become frail.    Its a real pressure.  Jesus is telling me not to store up riches and the world is telling me to store store store.

We arent good at talking about money.  The Northern Irish are even more reserved about it than most and church seems to focus on generosity and giving rather than financial planning and biblical wisdom. 

Im not really sure I have a point to make in this post other than to raise finances as a really important part of ageing.  We all have far more than we actually need.  The world is full of people who dont have what we have - food and water and shelter.   If we really trust that God will meet all our needs then He will bless us in our old age with every good thing and perhaps we need to be asking Him where it is He wants us to be investing our inheritances and maturing policies.  Into high interest paying accounts, or into the Kingdom.

Eeeeeeek.