[ampaterry]

Thank you, guys, for the encouragement and feedback; it is deeply appreciated!

With the economy of the US in shambles, I would like to talk just a bit today about money. We got in our present condition through one simple error: Too much spending of money which we do not have. I am a fan of Dave Ramsey, the Christian Financial Councilor. He advocates NO debt for ANYTHING at ANY time. His motivation for this philosophy was the fact that he was a multimillionaire real-estate investor who was heavily leveraged, and a slight problem was multiplied and exaggerated by his debt load to the point that he lost everything he owned, and had to file bankruptcy. He has re-built his fortune again, but this time without any debt, and that is what he advocates.
In this world of easy credit, I believe Dave Ramsey's teaching is badly needed, because many people for several years have been living just one paycheck from disaster due to their debt load, and in the current recession and tight job market they have lost everything. Dave teaches to build your nest-egg from your income, compounding it with good mutual fund investments, and NEVER going into debt.
While I follow his teachings in investing, and agree that one must be VERY careful with debt, I do not hold as strict a philosophy as Dave does in that area.
But what of this money which he teaches us to accumulate? Is it proper for a Christian to have a substantial amount of money? Shouldn't we be selling all that we have and giving it to the poor?
John Wesley said "The fault does not lie in the money, but in them that use it."

The Word of God tells us:
Ecclesiastes 5:10 (GWT);
"Whoever loves money will never be satisfied with money. Whoever loves wealth will never be satisfied with more income. Even this is pointless."

1 Timothy 6:10 (KJV);
"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

It is not the money that is evil, nor the possession of it that is to be avoided; it is in the LOVE of it that we sin.
Gluttony is a sin, but eating is not.
Lust is a sin, but love is not.
Coveting is a sin, but working to better yourself is not.
As Christians, we should accumulate enough money so as never to be a burden on our families or on society. That, brothers and sisters, is a virtue, not a sin.

May God bless each and every one of you -