WARNING!  THIS POST CONTAINS VERY PERSONAL OPINION AND RELIGIOUS CONTENT.  IF YOU DON’T LIKE THAT MOVE ALONG.

If there was a super-hero in my life as a kid it was my grandpa Peterman. He’s 83 I believe and he and my grandma are out from California to visit my parents and several grandkids’ families. This morning at breakfast with Grandpa he gave me some advice that was 80+ years in the making: don’t focus on what doesn’t matter. Sure, that sounds so logical and common sense - but how have I (and you, too) applied that advice. How have I managed my time and my life with focus on what matters?  You see, I’m a Christian.  One of those fuddy-duddies that just doesn’t care what popular culture believes, but I haven’t been focusing on what matters in that part of my life and letting that influence every other decision I’ve made - including my finances.

What I’m referring to isn’t about abandoning money for religion.  I’m not talking about, “What would Jesus do?”  I’m talking about total saturation.   What is Jesus doing now in and through me in my life in every moment.  Its about relationship with Christ in finances.  Its about relationship with Christ in my relationship with my wife.  Its about driving with Christ, showering with Christ, and as much as I hate it, its about doing the dishes with Christ.  It isn’t about praying more, fasting more, doing more or being more.  Its about my being at all.

My grandpa used to work at a soda fountain/pharmacy at the corner of 7th and Logan in downtown Denver.  Its now the excellent Benny’s Mexican restaurant.  My grandpa used to work seven days a week, ten hours a day.  For five dollars.  Five.  Dollars.  Seventy hours a week for five dollars.  Sure, he was a young teenager then, but he was still working.  In his own life he has done well financially in various ventures but none of those ventures came without his hard work.  Hard work that he wishes he’d have done with less hours now so that he could have spent them with his family.  Time that he could have spent growing in his walk with the Lord rather than being distracted by deadlines and such.

I have a great admiration for my grandpa’s life achievements but I appreciate his candid, honest discussion of things with me this last week.  He loves me, he loves his family and he loves the Lord.  There is nothing that this blog can possibly teach you about money finances that is more important than to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and to manage your life with that relationship in focus.  I’m motivated to pay off my debt now more than ever, I’m motivated to save to go visit my grandparents at least one more time before they get called home to heaven.  I’m motivated, but not by fear, uncertainty or doubt, but instead by my relationship with Christ.

OK, and the desire to not work for 70 hours for $5.00.

• No related posts.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 8th, 2007 at 10:39 am and is filed under Foundations, Taboo & Money (religion, sex, and politics). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.