Where Moths and Rust Destroy

I read a story this week that, in light of recent economic circumstances, may frustrate you. However, this story reminds me of a concept that I often ignore. The article I read, located on msn.com, shares the account of Augustine Fou. Mr. Fou and his wife earn around $400,000 a year. He works in marketing and has a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology while his wife, Lisa, is a dentist with her own practice. They live in a one-bedroom apartment located on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue with their two children. Though it may seem Mr. and Mrs. Fou have a life to be envied, they are affected by the state of the economy. They rent movies instead of going to the movies. They go to restaurants only once every 3 months. They buy their holiday gifts after the season has passed and do the bulk of their shopping at Wal-Mart. You might be thinking that the Fous are merely penny-pinching members of the upper class. Due to the cost of living in New York, a drop in the value of investments, and the possibility of losing their jobs, the Fous are nervous and fearful just like you and I.
I constantly have to be reminded that there is never enough money. I often think that money will solve my problems. With money, I can have a new house, a new computer, a new car, and whatever else I want. These things can never bring fulfillment. With all of these things there is just more risk involved. What happens to house payments when one loses her job? And, when we have more things, we often tend to want or need more things. Luke 16:13 states that we can’t “serve both God and Money”. Matthew 6:19-21 tells us not to save riches for ourselves here on Earth, “where moths and rust destroy”. We need to be content with what we have, like it is stated in Hebrews 13:5.