What Would You Do For a Klondike Bar? (And Ten Million Dollars)

Money.

Everyone wants it. People who have it, want more. It's caused pain, it's caused joy. It's one of the biggest causes of worry.

What is it about money that is so desirable?

Maybe it's the fact that while knowledge is power, money can buy you almost whatever you want.

Almost.

What are some of the things money can't buy?

1) Children
2) Purity
3) Being a natural-born American Citizen
4) Faith
5) Family
6) Life
7) Natural Gender
8) Love
9) True Nationality

In a recent study people were asked to participate in a FICTIONAL game, and were asked how they would respond.

The game goes as follows:

Picture a stage with thousands of people in the stands surrounding the stage. in the center on the stage is a announcer and a wheelbarrow full of 10 Million Dollars. The announcer calls pick one of these follow options to win 10 Million dollars instantly.

#1 Put your children up for adoption

#2 Become a prostitute for a week

#3 Give up your American Citizenship

#4 Abandon your church

#5 Abandon your family

#6 Kill a stranger

#7 Have a sex-change operation

#8 Leave your spouse

#9 Change your race

Thats the list the announcer calls, now make your choice. the audience in the stands go quiet all waiting for the sound of your voice. You have a choice to make...

Now although this game never happened, people just like you were asked what they would have said, of the people asked:

25% would abandon their family

25% would abandon their church

23% would become a prostitute

16% would give up their American citizenship

16% would leave their spouse

3% would put their children up for adoption.

Now, what I'm going to say next may sound like I'm changing the subject, but just bear with me, I am going somewhere with this.

Finishing and publishing these old blog posts has been an interesting experience for me. Especially which posts land on what days. Take my pro-life posts from a couple days ago for instance. Right before I logged onto Blogger to begin my "finishing blog posts" excursion, I was on the YouTube homepage. The featured advertisement had a pro-life video. The post at the top of my editing list was the pro-life posts. Coincidence? I think not.

Today, I was thumbing through a phonebook (with a purpose, I promise. I don't read phonebooks for fun). I stumbled across an ad for a jewelry shop. It advertised that money could buy happiness--especially at that particular jewelry shop. I, being me, made fun of the ad. But frankly, I was also rather disturbed. Whether the advertisers believe it or not, they were advocating the idea that money bought happiness. 

This mentality, whether meant as for real or not, is not only disturbing, it's wrong. Money does not buy  happiness. This may sound like a simple, mundane, and obvious concept, but it's true. 

No matter how much we try, earning money and buying "stuff" is not going to make us happy. The only way we can be truly happy is to be at peace with God. 

The empty place in our hearts can only be filled by God. 

Let your conversation be without covetousness; 

and be content with such things as ye have: 

for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Hebrew 13:5