May 28 - June 3, 2007

 SOLI/Update 

  www.stewardshipoflife.org



Can't have it all? Who cares?

Call it old age -- I'll be 49 next month! -- but it's really OK with me that I can't "have it all." Maybe I used to think I could have it all, given enough time and effort. But in your late 40s, you realize there isn't enough time left on the clock.

Our culture relentlessly pushes us into thinking that not only can  we have it all, but also we deserve to have it all, and we won't settle for anything less! Except if you are a total loser! Look closely at any advertisement you see on TV and you'll discover this clever lie is behind most of them.

Now, what is "it all"? All the things I would like to have, would like to experience or would like to be. As a kid I wanted to be a self-made millionaire astronaut who wrote bestselling books, starred in movies, dated models and, maybe, made a run for U.S. Senate just for fun. Oh, and in my spare time I'd read the entire collection of Oxford Edition Shakespeare, restore houses and watch movies. All the while maintaining vigorous athletic conditioning. 

Ha!

The lie of having it all drives much of the consumer madness in our country. It is responsible for untold misery. The poor want to be middle class, the middle class want to be rich, and the rich want to be richer.  Or I should say, everybody wants to be rich. And their striving leads to consumer debt, overwork, stress, health problems and bankruptcy.

In the Gospels, Jesus warned about the dangers of riches to spoil a spiritual life, to distract and lure us away from God. Instead of focusing on treasures on earth, Jesus said to focus on treasures in heaven. Then you won't have to strive to have "it all," you will have "it all" -- all that really matters.

--Rob Blezard, Editor and Webmaster

Reprint rights eagerly granted to local churches for nonprofit use. Just include this notice: "Copyright 2007 The Rev. Robert Blezard, www. stewardshipoflife.org. Used by permission."

New This Week!

10 Stewardship Principles
It's no mean feat to distill the collective wisdom of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America into 10 principles, but here it is! Available in either PowerPoint Presentation or PDF for printing, this handy list will help your members gain insight into discipleship and stewardship. Click here for "10 Stewardship Principles,"and then choose PDF or PowerPoint. From The Central States Synod .

The Power of 'Thank You'
"In the Christmas movie 'It's a Wonderful Life,' the Jimmy Stewart character has no idea how many lives he has touched.  He is not really different from most of us, and perhaps he wouldn't have felt that way if people were better at telling others how they are touched by the things they do." Click here for "The Power of Thank You," the latest essay by SOLI columnist Dana Reardon. Click here to read archived columns.


Preaching Past TiVo'
Here's a brilliant article -- a candid conversation with pastor/theologians on how to preach Gospel values to a consumer culture. Lots of wisdom. For instance, from John Ortberg: "One of the things we battle at the core is the assumption that the satisfaction of desire is the key to fulfillment in life. And any time people feel they lack something, the more they focus on that desire. It becomes a cycle, a treadmill." Click here for "Preaching Past TiVo," from the LeadershipJournal.net.