Black Friday!

     It's almost Black Friday! Time to max out those credit cards! Then get back to work & pay for it. Ah, but wait.... so here’s an assignment, ask yourself: “How would I spend my time if I did not need money?” Let’s imagine it happened; you stopped needing money, you were absorbed in doing the things you are passionate about. Go ahead, think about it. It’s OK if you want to keep reading, but I challenge you to come back to the question. Work on it, respond to it. If you suddenly realized that you didn’t need the money – how would your life be different?
     It’s a curious thing—but true—that by refusing to be obsessed with the need for money we move in the direction of fulfilling our goals and dreams. When we work for money rather than the joy or challenge that work brings and the contribution we can make we lose touch with our deeper needs, longings and desires.
     When we recall how often our Lord reminded his disciples that our Heavenly Father cares even for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air – who “neither toil nor spin,” how he multiplied the loaves and fish, how he taught them to pray, “…give us this day our daily bread…” can we see in that the unqualified release from the tyranny of the urgent?

     Are you stuck where you are? What would it take for you to break free? What other ways could you manage what you have now? How much do you really need?

“In all toil there is profit” (Prov.14:23 RSV)
What kind of “profit” are you enjoying from your work?