The story is told of a man who, while walking on a beach, found a used magic lamp. He rubbed the lamp and the genie appeared, inviting him to make a wish. The man pondered for a moment and then had a great idea. He requested a copy of the stock page from the local newspaper, dated exactly one year into the future. With a puff of smoke, the genie disappeared and in his place was a copy of the stock page, dated exactly one year into the future. Gleefully, the man sat down to peruse his trophy. Now he could invest with certainty, knowing which stocks would rise. But then he happened to glance at what was on the back of the stock page. It was the obituary column. And guess whose name was at the top of the list. It was his own! Suddenly all those stock market gains seemed less important. Why? Because for the first time, this man had to look at life from an eternal perspective.
My purpose today is to help us look at life, especially money, affluence, and possessions, from an eternal perspective.
In Australia the love of affluence is almost in the water, inhaled in the air, absorbed into the skin. When we ask, "How much is John worth?" everyone assumes that we are talking about John's financial worth. When you talk about "the bottom line," everyone assumes that you're talking dollars. But for a Christian, the bottom line is about eternal matters.
Jesus said quite a lot about money and possessions. In fact, 15 percent of everything Jesus said, as recorded in the four gospels, relates to this topic. He spoke more about this topic than about heaven and hell combined.
