How about a little ditty? (Repeat a few times.)

Life… is… very

tem-por-ary

So true. Yet, we seem constantly to forget that, exalting the material and superficial.

Our current-day “geniuses,” our heroes, those we “celebrate” in these strange times?

Those who have money, money, and more money, veritable barrels—tons—of it. Actual trillions in the hands of a very few.

The richest man in the world counts a third of a trillion (more than 300,000 million).

The founder of Amazon has used his money for things like a yacht so huge, they had to dismantle a monumental bridge in Europe (Rotterdam) so it could get downriver.

Ah, our priorities.

He launched a $2-billion fund to support organizations that help homeless families and to create a network of Montessori-inspired preschools in low-income communities.

So far, so good: Except two billion is one percent of his “worth.” (which is more than 200,000 million).

The founder of the most influential social-media platform has committed to giving away 99 percent of his Facebook shares over his lifetime, a commitment worth tens of billions of dollars.

A very noble idea. We’ll await its actualization.

The richest man is widely called a “genius” and, wanting to spread brain power, has offered to donate his sperm for those ordering in vitro fertilization.

True genius, one would hope, is more than electric cars, online retail, or exploding a man toward Mars.

We are all to blame. It’s not just a standard cycle that has caused inflation.

At every level–from magnate to handy man–folks are gouging one another.

That’s not the Christian way.

Nor does a culture of the super-rich comport with Scripture:

• Matthew 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
• Luke 12:15 – “Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.'”
• 1 Timothy 6:10 – “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”
• Ecclesiastes 5:10 – “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”
• Matthew 19:23-24 – “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.'”

According to reports from organizations like Oxfam and the Economic Policy Institute, the most moneyed one percent of the population now controls more than half of the world’s wealth. This is known as a travesty.

There are 2,300,700 “millionaire” households across America.

The opulence! Below, the homes of a rapper and record mogul who currently sits in a jail cell.

God is the Expert at giving us what we need. The devil has always been the expert at handing out luxury.

And mostly, what we need are things that redound to our eternal benefit, our eternal happiness, not the toys and bells and whistles and pretenses of life on earth, where the average lifespan is counted in less than eight decades.

This passing world.

This world that wastes so much time on wealth and celebrities.

Life it is very

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And when so materialistic: in need of prayer. And fair-ly scary.