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Like Nonjoiner. Just because I haven't made anything from this, they think it's a waste of time. Well, anyway, this is a very new blog, probably just 2 to 3 months old. "Why not just focus on your blogs that make you money? Time is gold!" they said. Exactly, time is gold, that's why I find time to "waste" time. I love wasting time. And I really don't get it when they use that word--"wasting" when it comes to my use of time. Anything that doesn't make you money is a waste to them. See that value system?
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With materialism and greediness growing at a very alarming and scary rate (it's incredible how they weigh people and things these days--a life costs only P5k to riding-in-tandem hired killers), you need to be careful what dictates value to you. And it's astounding how the money value system is adopted even by nice folks you thought were godly or spiritual. What you do or have is nothing if it doesn't add anything to your bank account.
Or if you don't have a car. 😄
What dictates value to you---and you allow it to---shows your true person. Your inner man. Money is important--the bible says it's the answer for everything (everything in this material world)---but it's too much to allow it to decide our priorities and perspectives. Instead, we should see it this way--money is the answer for everything so we should use it for everything.
Get the drift?
The clue is "use." We should use it as a tool and make it serve us, not the other way around. Better, we should make it serve others around us, not allow it to establish their value as human beings. It's tragic to see people (or what they do) as a mere "waste" because they have no money. I often see moneyed people treat as garbage those who make little money. They think you're poor because you're stupid not to figure out ways to enrich yourself--or because you're lazy. As if being poor was mortal sin.
Or if you don't have a car. 😄
What dictates value to you---and you allow it to---shows your true person. Your inner man. Money is important--the bible says it's the answer for everything (everything in this material world)---but it's too much to allow it to decide our priorities and perspectives. Instead, we should see it this way--money is the answer for everything so we should use it for everything.
Get the drift?
The clue is "use." We should use it as a tool and make it serve us, not the other way around. Better, we should make it serve others around us, not allow it to establish their value as human beings. It's tragic to see people (or what they do) as a mere "waste" because they have no money. I often see moneyed people treat as garbage those who make little money. They think you're poor because you're stupid not to figure out ways to enrich yourself--or because you're lazy. As if being poor was mortal sin.
If so, how did Lazarus end up in Abraham's bosom and the rich man in hell?
Well, yeah, there are many people who are poor because they're lazy. But that's beside the point. I see many hardworking employees end up broke or getting meager SSS pension after retirement. This is what most folks see. But what a nonjoiner sees is how happy these folks were doing a menial task for years. Yeah, they didn't get rich, but they've been happy. And that's what matters.
Another unfortunate reality is a boss that finds no value in you if you don't make him money. It's better to be fired from work for incompetence than be treated as garbage because you don't make money for the boss. See what I mean? Just fire me than keep me as a dirt rag.
You have trapped yourself into a corner once you think anything that does not make money is a waste of time. God created humans and the universe even if they don't make him any money. We should get a clue from that. There are more important things in life than making money. There's the ineffable joy of just watching things operate as you designed them to--like how a paper plane you made glides smoothly in the air and your kids take so much delight in it.
Another unfortunate reality is a boss that finds no value in you if you don't make him money. It's better to be fired from work for incompetence than be treated as garbage because you don't make money for the boss. See what I mean? Just fire me than keep me as a dirt rag.
You have trapped yourself into a corner once you think anything that does not make money is a waste of time. God created humans and the universe even if they don't make him any money. We should get a clue from that. There are more important things in life than making money. There's the ineffable joy of just watching things operate as you designed them to--like how a paper plane you made glides smoothly in the air and your kids take so much delight in it.
Or watching how wonderful a woman your wife is or watching your kids grow up. These things do not amount to cash, but they're definitely NOT a waste of time. Seeing how my blog article fits together concisely and simply, with the right words conveying my thoughts and person, is a big accomplishment even if they don't make me a cent. Well, I hope they would someday. But so what if they wouldn't?
The sense of fulfillment. No amount of money can equal that. My dad wrote volumes and volumes of diaries year after year even if they didn't make him money. But he felt accomplished and content seeing them neatly bound and lined up in his glass-covered shelves for posterity to enjoy. My wife puts lots of artistic effort cooking her best recipes for our kids even if she doesn't get paid anything, but actually gets more than compensated with our "Wow! That tastes delicious!" remark.
Sometimes even churches don't get this. They measure success in terms of church assets, income and money in the bank. To them, these things speak volumes and they alone tell the real story behind a ministry. But how about what the pastor and his wife think and feel? How they see things? Nope, these things are total wastes of time if you base success on them, they say. The world has become so materially mean. No cash no glory.
The result?
Too many broken lives and marriages and families. Deadly illnesses triggered by stress. Cases of depression at an alarming, incredible record high. And a worldwide pharma industry exploding with huge profits due to increasing sales in maintenance medicines. All because they think appreciating life is a waste of time just because it doesn't make money. But life is a gift from God and we must take time to watch and appreciate it intentionally.
