A friend's family has a saying that I fully intend to adopt into my family when I have one. They say "Any problem that can be solved with money is not a big problem." I love it. It helps to keep things in perspective for me. Maybe I'm annoyed because I pull a shirt out of the closet and it's ruined with a stain that I didn't notice when I put it away. Or maybe my car breaks down and needs an expensive repair. These problems are not big problems, according to my friend's proverb.
A few days ago a good friend called to tell me that a 16-year old in his youth group had been hit and killed by an 18-wheeler just two days before Christmas. The youth group had just been all together at a retreat. The boy was a believer and had recently shared his testimony, but the pain that his family is now feeling at Christmas is unimaginable to me.
When I think this Christmas about the things that are most important to me, I immediately think of people: friends, family, loved ones. I think of causes: opportunities to help people, opportunities to change the world one person at a time, injustices and pain around the world. I think of virtues and character: faith, hope, love, joy, kindness. I don't think about possessions, or money, or work. Somehow, in the right perspective, those things just seem to fade. This Christmas, I need to be reminded what are big problems and what problems can simply be solved with money. From that perspective, I can see what is really important.
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