Money (4) Wealth and Decadence

Money (4) Wealth and Decadence

I was up on the ladder last month cleaning our gutters and noticed our 30-year roof that was installed 18 years ago already needs replaced. The month before I had replaced our 80,000-mile tires after 49,000 miles, and just before that I replaced a half dozen LED light...
Money (4) Wealth and Decadence

Money (3) Wealth and Morality

I had a neighbor growing up whose name was Roger. We were the same age, maybe 7 or 8, and we shared a sandbox, a sort of communal sandbox, which we shared with several neighborhood cats. Every morning we’d clean it out, then play cars, building highways, tunnels, and...
Money (4) Wealth and Decadence

Money (2) The Myths of Wealth

For years, I preached stand-alone sermons, but after a while noticed I was whaling away at the same subject every Sunday, so began doing series preaching, carefully selecting varied themes so as not to repeat myself. But the weakness of series preaching is the...
Money (4) Wealth and Decadence

Money (1) The Business of Our Lives

An old friend came to visit last week. We were sitting outside in our screenhouse, and the subject of money came up. My friend said, “I love money,” and I immediately thought of the comedian Steve Martin, who said, “I love money. I love everything about it. I bought...
Money (4) Wealth and Decadence

Good Goodbyes

I was chatting with a man recently about the things we should know but aren’t taught, the things we must learn on our own. Most of us weren’t taught about finances, we just mimic the spending habits of our parents, be they good or bad. My mother was frugal, and my...
Money (4) Wealth and Decadence

My Father’s Ice Cream Ministry

Welcome to meeting, Friends. On this day we remember and give thanks for the presence of ice cream in our lives. Catholics believe in transubstantiation, that when the priest offers the Eucharistic prayer, the bread and wine change in substance to become the actual...