Mortgage-Overspending Paradox Essay

“An obsession with possessions enslaves us to the demon of worry. Jesus invites us to change our priorities, focus on the kingdom, and share with the needy” (Kraybill, 2011, p.101). A man’s wealth will be measured by the love, kindness and empathy he has for the poor and the hungry in Gods kingdom. For this matter Jesus wants the wealthy to humble themselves and receive their blessing by offering opportunities to the poor instead of being greedy and celebrating their own wealth.

Money— sweeter than honey but oh so destructive. It facilitates a man’s life, while a lack of it imprisons him in the streets of penury. It raises his social status, while an absence of it leaves him unnoticed. It gives him an aura of superiority and importance among others, while a deficiency of it makes him worthless in society’s eyes. Considering these two roads, most do not take more than a second to decide to chase riches.

Money brings the inequality of possessions, also called “the haves and the have not’s.” We may all be equal in the eyes of God, but here on earth some eyes grow green with envy. Children come home from daycare complaining that Little Jimmy’s truck was bigger than his, husbands and fathers are forever eying the Jones; new corvette, and entire wars have erupted over the “you have it and I’m gonna get it” mentality. Inequality of possessions is not bad though many passages in the Bible teach that even in heaven there are different degrees of rewards. Even God’s spiritual gifts are not given equally to each of us, but this does not mean He loves one person more than the other. It is what we do with

Evaluation: This article, posted on April 1, 2016, was originally published on TheConversation.com. Throughout the article, the author cites sources that come from 2012-2017, with the majority of them coming from 2015-2016. Moreover, these cited websites are credible, well-known, and have information that can be corroborated with other sources. Some of these sites included The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and a report from the Federal Reserve. Moving on, the author, Mechele Dickerson, is an expert on this topic. Dickerson received both her B.A. and J.D. from Harvard University and currently works as a professor of law at the University of Texas at Austin. Here, she teaches classes on consumer law, debt and spending to law and undergraduate students. In her current research, she explores causes and consequences of consumer debt and how the culture

“Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil” (383). The sharp distinction

This essay will examine the human race's abandonment of the Lord's will and determine how Everyman presents the idea of material wealth. Sex and Material Wealth Sex and money are two things that go hand in hand. Once one acquires the other the missing piece is not too far behind. This quote is a perfect example of Everyman's view of wealth, "... His mind is on fleshly lust and his treasure, And great pain it shall cause him to endure Before the Lord Heaven King..."

This was a difficult discipline to practice because I just got paid two days ago. Money is something that society makes a necessity, which makes it good to have. Today, I was able to stop hoarding my money as I have been lately. While reading the Bible I crossed the word prosperity and I thought about my added discipline for the day. God does not talk about prosperity as money but instead other blessings. I need to handle my money in a way that will maximize the treasures in heaven. If I am persuaded by the treasures in heaven, money is not a necessity here on earth because I will be listening to Luke’s command, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys” (New International Version,

In today’s modern world, I can say without hesitation that we live in a disposable society where throwing away items isn’t a tough commitment, rather we spend money aimlessly on extravagant items only to add to our wishlists after the last purchase was made. As individuals use their credit card to make purchases locally and abroad, many appear to overlook the fact that daily periodic interest charges are added to their credit card balances. Consequently, John Verdant brings the subject of purchasing into play as he describes the regular routine of the Able family. According to Verdant’s statement, “When they decide on a purchase, the Ables pay the local merchants in cash unless they choose to a credit card to get a warranty extension or to buy something locally. Paying by cash or check saves the merchant the 1.5% to 4% percentage fee they pay to the credit card company on the purchase plus the per transaction fee they have to pay to the bank.” (Verdant, pg. 153). Although card transactions can be made in the blink of an eye, the biggest disadvantage of this method of payment is the amount of debt held by the

The cruelty of debt becomes real when debtors see how it compounds each month feeding off finance charges and borrowers have very little to show for it. Interest rates make up for most monthly minimum payments. Balances are left with little to no change and the cycle of debt continues to flow through the budget. In the meantime, households struggle with monthly payment demands keeping their reliance for credit cards and safe online payday loan lenders in the forefront.

Similarly, early Christianity has the same general view of usury, “In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord God.” (Exekiel 22:12). However, Islam tends to be stricter about preserving authenticity of teachings of Allah or Prophet Muhammad because the teachings were meant to be implemented

Both these ways of giving relate to our belief that everything that we have belongs to God. So, we should make sure that we spend from whatever we have in his way and to glorify

For many Christians, there is a dichotomy in the scriptures that give instructions that are appropriate for one to leave an inheritance and the Parable of the Rich Fool. On the one hand, Proverbs states that “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children (13:22, Amplified Bible). On the other hand, the man who decided to hoard his wealth so much so that he needed to build additional quarters, was admonished and died ( Luke 12;19, Berean Study Bible). For some, this is a biblical contradiction, for others, acquiring for the purpose of sustaining one‘s existence at the point of retirement and having the ability bequeath one’s fortune is different than simply stockpiling for self-satisfaction. Therefore, believers, if possible, should plan for life after working years.

But their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit, they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They only know the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish....Yes, the money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of that restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit......and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot

This section encourages us to be faithful with what God has given us. As Christians we are not to simply ignore the impact of money, or care nothing of how we handle it (which may be tempting when we understand that it has not eternal value), instead, we are still to be careful with our money, think ahead about what we do with it, and use it wisely. After all, the way we treat money will impact the responsibilities God will give us. If we are faithful with the material possessions we are given on earth, God will trust us to be faithful with spiritual riches.

Furthermore, for the Muslims, there is a need to carry out their transactions in accordance with the rules and principles of Islam because the vector of commodities which a non-Muslim consumer may be able to choose from is quite different from that of a Muslim consumer, even if all elements of goods and services were available (Metwally, 1997). This is because Islam prohibits Muslim in certain commodities or indulging in some activities such as consuming alcohol, pork, and gamble. In the Holy Quran was