“In God We Trust” — or so our currency tells us. This is the official motto of the United States, but it’s clearly aspirational, not descriptive. Truth be told, we often listen to advertisements that tell us “More is More”: the more we buy, the happier we will be — and this dream can be ours if we just work more. What could go wrong? It doesn’t take long to realize a ride on the hamster wheel does lead to more, but not to more happiness. Welcome to more busyness, more mistakes, more waste, more stress. A ride on the consumer treadmill leaves us worn out, time poor, dissatisfied, and lonely. The English poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850) describes this striving so well: “The world is too much with us; late and soon, getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.” Equating the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of money makes us more self-focused and less generous. The “can’t say we weren’t warned”— the Proverbs warn us that pursuing wealth is a fool’s errand:
Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Proverbs 23:4-5
This past year I went through a divorce and spent time reflecting on my attitude toward finances. I realized that my reflex was to “trust my own cleverness” by relying on my ability to work hard and tolerate difficult circumstances. I had a poverty mentality, which led me to spend too much time living as frugally as possible. I decided to take a whole new approach. Rather than jumping into a job like I usually do, I spent time praying for the right opportunity. I prayed about the extra space in my home and asked God to lead me in how to use it. I also prayed that I would walk in step with Jesus in his “unforced rhythms of grace”.
I’m so grateful that God has shown me that I can trust Him. I’ve found a job as a school bus driver, which (to my surprise!) is a perfect fit. I love working with students and can even get insurance while working part time. I can balance my budget and love having a generous margin of time left over after work. A recent grad of Leeds School of Business confided that she was struggling to find a job, so I invited her to stay in my home rent-free while she job hunted. She had been praying for a place to live and I had been praying about using the empty space in my home. It’s only been a few months since I decided to trust in God more, I’ve seen so many answers to prayer and have experienced so much joy and peace.
by Sherry Sommer
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