Money Money Money!

There are many things in this world that I wish I had. Anyone that has been around me for more than a few minutes knows that I love cars (Ford Mustangs in particular). I can go on and on about how I would love to have one of these, simply because they have been an obsession of mine for as long as I can remember.  When I really think about it, my Ford Explorer gets me where I need to go, it's reliable, I can seat quite a few people when I need to, and it's a whole lot safer than some low-to-the-ground sports car that I would probably get too many tickets in anyways.

So what am I getting at here? There are many things in this world that people long for that they don't need. Media and popular culture these days revolve around money, possessions, and social status.  Many young children (and adults) are, at times, given the wrong perspectives of what are and what aren't necessities for life.  If you think about it, all the extras are just things to try and further peoples' happiness. Food is considered a necessity; however, spending $10 or $15 dollars everyday, by going out to eat is absurd. Some of the same things you can buy at a restaurant can be eaten for just fractions of the cost by staying home and cooking it yourself. I would know because I am a college student! I'm not saying that it's not o.k. to go enjoy yourself every once in a while, but if you save $5 dollars a day by eating at home, that's $150 dollars a month that could be spent on other things! 

Every Christmas, my old high-school youth group would get together, and do a gag-gift exchange; however, this last Christmas my brilliant youth leader decided to do something different. Instead of the $10 that we were normally supposed to spend on crap that would get thrown away, he had us all bring $5 but didn't tell us what it was for. When we reached our final destination after caroling at houses, he finally told us what that $5 was for. For the $125 or so that we had collected, we donated it to a charity that provides clean water and farm animals to villages in Africa. Although the reactions to gifts of Justin Beiber dolls and snuggies are funny, we felt so much better to know that kids in Africa weren't dying because we ridded the diseases from their water source by providing clean water to them and their families.

I wrote a minute ago that it was o.k. to treat yourself to special things every once in a while; however, we are truly blessed much more than we stop to think sometimes. I am fully guilty of this, because here I sit with a smartphone that probably just distracts me from more important things most of the time. It's just that we have so many possessions that are a waste of money most of the time. Even though we live in America and are one of the richest countries in the world, we long for more than we could ever possibly need! After all as you have probably heard..."He who dies with the most possessions...still dies!" Just something to think about!