Following Whitney Houston’s death, the media is buzzing with news of her financial woes. Commentators are marveling that someone who was once considered one of the world’s richest women could now be broke and facing foreclosures. We shouldn’t be so surprised. We all, with few exceptions, live up to or beyond our means, no matter how great or small those means.
If you’ve ever bought a house, think about the first thing your banker or realtor did. I’m willing to bet they didn’t sit down with you, discuss your priorities in life, help you budget for those priorities, and then determine how housing fit into that budget. It’s much more likely that they looked at your income and outstanding debt, then determined the maximum amount of additional debt you could add. In my experience, the realtor is likely to encourage you to spend the maximum amount: “This is a fine house, but I’d like to show you something a little nicer that I think you’ll like a lot better. It’s probably at the top end of your range, but I think you’ll be much happier with it”. Heard that one before?
It’s the same pitch whether you’re a person of modest means or a star with millions of dollars. For a star it’s just something more like, “I’d like to show you a home in Tuscany. I know you already have one in London and a few in the states, but I think you’ll be much happier in your own place when staying in southern Europe.” So from Whitney Houston to Average-Joe-America we end up in hock to our eye-balls or even worse, upside down, under water, drowning in a sea of red.
So how did that sales pitch work out? Was Whitney happier? Are you? The world offers us a scoring system where success is measured by the stuff we have and the house we live in, but we never seem to feel truly successful or truly happy. Once we reach the bar we were shooting for there’s always a higher bar out there. There’s always more stuff available whether you’re rich, middle class, or poor. It’s a system you can’t win. The pitch is a lie.
The alternative is opting out of that world system and living in a counter-culture way. Imagine a system where your self-esteem, happiness, and sense of well being comes not from the stuff you have, but from who you are in Christ. In Christ, we have been adopted as children of God and have become heirs to His Kingdom. If that’s true, then shouldn’t we be fully invested in the Kingdom we share in? In the New Testament, the Kingdom of God is sometimes described in “now and not yet” terms. That is to say, Jesus made it clear that He ushered in the Kingdom of God with His first coming and yet we can readily see that His Kingdom is not yet fully realized on this earth. That’s the job the Church has been given until He comes again. We are to be about the work of building the kingdom of God. If we believe that one day there will be no more poverty, no more hunger, no more sickness, no more hurting people, no more abortion, no more crime, no more abuse, then shouldn’t we be about the work of addressing those things now?
There’s a problem though. We can’t stay ahead of the Jones and invest fully in Kingdom building. We have to decide whether we’re going to live for today or for that which will last for eternity. Houses, cars, and bank accounts won’t last forever, but anything we invest in the Kingdom will. Investing in God’s work today will have eternal significance allowing us to see the rewards of that work forever.
I don’t know much about Whitney Houston. In interviews she sometimes mentioned her relationship with Jesus so I accept her as a sister in Christ and assume that we will hear her voice again lifted in new song. However, I also believe that her last few years were not happy ones. They were characterized by drug and alcohol abuse and by financial woes. At some point, Whitney must have become sidetracked by the lie that the stuff of this world could make her happy. It didn’t.
So what about you? As you look at your finances today, are you living for the things this world has to offer or are your financial priorities aligned with God’s? Are you investing in God’s Kingdom or are the resources He’s given being consumed on that which decays? Losing a great talent like Whitney Houston has been sad, but the fact that millions of people are falling for the same lie is even sadder. Ultimately, the world’s system can’t offer lasting happiness. We find our peace in Christ and fulfillment of purpose in building His Kingdom. Rather than be sidetracked by the world’s lie, let’s start living for that which matters.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://blog.lifeassuranceministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/HPIM11471.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Chris Lee lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with his wife, Carmen, and daughters, Ashlyn and Alyssa. They attend the Lincoln Berean Church. Chris is a self-described “theology junkie” whose mission is to proclaim the unfathomable grace of Christ in a clear, understandable, and Biblical way. He is a contributing editor for Proclamation! Magazine and the editor of Proclamation! Blog.[/author_info] [/author]
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Thank you, Chris. This is so right on!
The thing about Whitney Houston’s life that struck me the most was that in every interview I have seen her in, she always mentioned Jesus. She said “Jesus Loves Me” was her favorite song. I will never forget her saying that in the midst of using drugs, she would read her Bible. Many people may automatically look at her life and rule out her salvation. I tend to believe that she was like David and was after God’s own heart. Her life has made me think about true grace. In our eyes, she did not have a strong finish in her race. Do we really believe that we are saved, no matter what?
Hi Dianne. As I mentioned in the piece, I do believe, based upon her confession of faith, that Whitney is with the Lord. This is not about whether or not she is saved (I believe she is), it’s about how easy it is for any one of us to get distracted by the lies that the world tells, even after being saved. This life is precious. God has given us work to do and as the Church we are called to be on mission each day of our lives until He takes us home. How many of us really live with this in mind everyday though? I know I often get distracted by the things of the world and waste time and resources on things that have no eternal value. I think that happened with Whitney and hopefully we can learn something from the life of our sister in Christ.
I so appreciate your gracious tone Chris. It would be impressive to see that same spirit spread throughout the FAF community and especially to the contributors to the blogs and Proclamation Magazine in their zealous attempts to instruct and correct the Sabbatarians, legalists and SDA in general. Perhaps the same accepting spirit expressed for Whitney Houston could be extended to brothers and sisters in Christ whose theology you find to be faulty.
Bruin,
Rather than attempt to reply in comments, I’ve posted a summary of my basic philosophy and approach here: https://blog.lifeassuranceministries.org/2012/05/14/why-we-fight/
Chris, thank you for reposting your “Why We Fight” article. You articulate for many of us the reason we don’t just quietly fade into the sunset.