Money, Things, and Friends

Dad gave me a piece of advice a few days ago that I thought was very worth sharing here.

"Hold things loosely."

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meant, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, not gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much More clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Gather knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

Mathew 6:24-34

When I think about the virtuous woman serving in and out of her home, and doing all sorts of projects, and being a very good steward of what God has given her, this is one aspect I usually forget.

Things aren't everything.

Of course I know that, in this chapter in Mathew, Jesus isn't saying that we should never have a bank account, never buy an article of clothing, and never plan a menu. As He often does, Jesus is talking here about a general attitude.

I tend to hold tightly to things. I'm sentimental. I hate to throw things out; I may need it some day! I also tend to worry about my wardrobe; why do I never look as nice as the other girls? I need some more skirts! Maybe I should find another pair of shoes. If I could just find the perfect hair style....

I'm just starting to learn this lesson:

Don't hold tightly to things.

P.S. In honor of Family Friday, here's something I was thinking of today:

Why do folks say "You know you're good friends with someone if you fight with them." That's crazy. But maybe that's why siblings fight? Nah, that can't be. Siblings? Fight? Never.

I consider my siblings my best friends. I hope you do too. And, just so you know....

...You DON'T have to fight to be best friends!

In fact, doing without the fights would probably help all those people I meet who can't stand their siblings.