I have a confession to make…

I have a confession to make…I love auctions!  There is nothing like finding something that you really must have and then having someone else want it too.  In my mind I set a limit that is usually reached very quickly but I can’t let the other guy have it so I bid higher and higher and then sometimes win!  I was at a local auction a few years ago and stayed until the very end when most people have gone and only junk is left.  Anyway, they started to auction off an office chair that I hadn’t even seen.  It turned out that I actually needed an office chair so when no one bid and the auctioneer said that the first dollar gets it, I pounced on it.  An office chair for a buck.  What a deal!  Of course, I hadn’t yet actually seen the chair up close and when I did, I realized that there was no way my wife would let me bring the chair into our house (and no way I even wanted to sit in it), so I took it right to the dump where it cost me $3 to drop it off!  Not the brightest move, but lesson learned.  

Because I tend to buy stuff that I don’t really need at auctions, I rarely go anymore. BUT, I found some tv shows that show auctions and now I can see other people’s purchases!  Ever watch “Auction Kings”?  It’s very exciting to watch people bring stuff in and put a value on it and then see if the auction brings anything close to that!  Recently, I discovered the “Barrett-Jackson Auction” which is high end cars that are auctioned off.  Cars regularly get auctioned off for $100,000 to $200,000!!!  Can you imagine the “whoosh” (remember Jeff’s sermon), that those buyers must get?  Can you imagine spending that kind of money on a car that they are probably not going to drive?  Most of the cars are added to existing collections of cars that these people have! 

As I reflect on that, what a waste of money for a “whoosh”.  I think of what other uses that money could be used for.  Can you imagine if we could give Noi working with the elderly in the slums of Bangkok $100,000 to reach out to the slum communities?  What a huge difference that would make.  What if that much money could go to the training center in North Thailand that we support to help the pastors there get motorcycles?  I talked with PhoneKao who is going to be leading that center and he shared that there were 37 pastors who needed the motorcycles so they could reach more areas in a shorter time.  At this point, they regularly walk 6-10 hours from village to village to bring the Gospel!  The bikes he’s looking at are from China and only cost $500 each!  What a great way to engage the Great Commission.  What about the couple in our church that desire to reach out to new immigrants in Abbotsford and would like to purchase an apartment style house that could give these new comers to Canada a place to live while trying to navigate the murky waters of immigration?  What about Cyrus Center that needs more staff?  Salvation Army that needs a bigger cooler?  What would our own missionaries who are continually getting paid less than they should because there aren’t enough people supporting them?  Wycliffe in many cases has people willing to go into areas of the world that don’t have the Scriptures in their own language, but simply don’t have the funds to go.  International Justice Mission needs money to help prosecute people preying on the young and vulnerable in our world.  Compassion International has hundreds of children that need someone to sponsor them so they can have food, education, health and the hope of Jesus!  All these examples are doing such practical acts of social justice, PLUS, bringing the life-changing message of Jesus that will affect them for all of eternity!  Doesn’t that seem like such a better use of money?

It’s one thing to talk about other people’s use of money and it’s easy to point fingers at them for not using it properly, but what about you and I?  Do I really NEED a new LCD tv for our house or do I just want it?  Do I NEED that new pair of really cool shoes or just want them?  The list goes on and your list may differ from mine, but what do we really NEED and what do we just want?  Going into the slums of Bangkok sure helps to bring clarity to this issue.  Over there, they NEED their daily bread.  For the most part, there are no wants, only lots of pressing needs.  And one huge NEED at home and abroad, is the need of Jesus.  That is one thing that we all have in common.  We are so blessed to live in this country and community and I think that I need to show it more by how I spend my money and to use it for God’s purposes, not mine.  What about you?