danger signs

Two of the churches I'm involved with are upper middle class professional. This is very interesting because there is a danger that everything from sermon illustrations to small talk is unreal to anyone else who doesn't have a car or reasonable income or currently owning or aspiring to own property. ( the same applies to singles in a church mainly full of couples!) This Sunday I'll be with a very different group at Yonge Street Mission and looking forward to something different and maybe more authentic and real for me.

I read this week about the Five Signs You're Living Beyond Your Means at Yahoo Finance.
Sign No. 1 - Your Credit Score is Below 600
Sign No. 2 - You are Saving Less Than 5%
Sign No. 3 - Your Credit Card Balances are Rising
Sign No. 4 - More Than 28% of Income Goes To Your House
Sign No. 5 - Your Bills are Spiraling Out of Control

Even something like this is unreal. As I look at my own circumstances 2 and 4 are absolutely true 0 percent saving - 45 percent rent, and actually 25 percent school fees. However 3 and 5 are totally under control. For many of the urban poor all 5 are true. The current financial global crisis seems to be linked to banks encouraging people to live beyond their means whether credit or mortgage. But what is the origins of this? I think capitalism and consumerism are intrinsically linked, actually mutually dependent. Our whole economic system is dependent on us continually spending.

In our postmodern world I think many people are looking for something authentic, something they can see is real. Unfortunately many get caught up in illusions - the suburban lifestyle, settling down. Perhaps we don't only have to get out of the church building and into the community but we ourselves have to be noticeably different.

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matt 6:24