Count the Cost

"Do not boast about tomorrow,for you do not know what a day may bring forth." (From Proverbs 27:1).

I spoke to my friend John the other day and he told me he had just purchased a house.John and his wife are a very nice couple who have three beautiful young children.While describing his new home, John kept using the term "starter" in referring to it.When I asked him what that meant,he said that this house would only be a temporary one,that in about ten years he would sell it for a profit and buy a bigger and better one.I couldn't help but wonder,why are you thinking about the purchase of another house, when you haven't even moved into the first one? John and his wife are professionals who work full-time,they make alot of money.I see them leaving early in the morning to drop their children off at day-care, and return late in the afternoon from work.Their weekends are a whirlwind of activity filled with many things to do, and get done.John and his wife are like hundreds of thousands of other families living in this country.In thinking about this couple, I sometimes wonder,is this what the American dream is all about?

I read an article in a magazine not too long ago which reported that the divorce rate in this country is now well over fifty percent.It said that the chief cause for divorce among married couples,by far,were over issues pertaining to money.The inevitable question becomes,what lifestyle is worth sacrificing spending time with your children or sabotaging a marriage?It is human nature to take such things as relationships and health, as well as freedom from accidents and death for granted. This sadly is unrealistic because illness and tragedy are a part of everyone's lives.As we read in Proverbs, "you do not know what a day may bring forth."

Perhaps the only thing that could be more unfortunate than an unexpected tragedy,is the realization that you spent far more time in the pursuit of material things than with your family or a loved one.