Editor's Note: For the 2021 Advent season, EarthBeat is revisiting and republishing some of the reflections from last year's series, "Simple Advent, Abundant Life." Sign up here to receive the "Simple Advent Revisited" reflections three times a week in your inbox.
Second week of Advent theme—Money
Wednesday, Dec. 8
REFLECT
What do we worship? The Gospel of Matthew warns us, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Mt. 6:21). All too often our treasures lie tucked away in the department store sale …
We need to look at our patterns of consumption and reevaluate the ways we use that resource called money. In addition, as Christians we are compelled to see if these patterns align with Biblical teachings and living a Christian life.
Evy McDonald, "Spending Money as if Life Really Mattered" from Simpler Living, A Compassionate Life
As we explore this week the relationship between money and simplicity, and whether the way we accumulate and spend money reflects our values, we ask ourselves the important question: "Where is my treasure?" As Christians we are called to center God and love of neighbor in our lives and to avoid false idols, such as money.
Additionally, how and where we spend our money demonstrates what we value. Do we support small businesses or large corporations? Do we consider the life cycle of a product, or how people's lives might have been affected by the extraction, production, selling and disposal of a product?
ACT
This week, make note of how you spend your money. As you make purchases, ask yourself the question, "Does this purchase align with my values?"
View the Advent Simplicity Calendar for a simple pledge you can state out loud or in prayer to spend money in ways that align with your values.
Simple Advent, Abundant Life
reflect | act
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