giving, stewardship, and movies

well, today made a big ding in my bank account. a BIG ding. a TOO big ding.

i got some stuff for a baby shower, and as i was piling stuff into my basket, i asked God if i should get all of this, or be a 'good steward' and be careful and not get so much. after all, i'm near broke already, and payday for the month was last week.

you can tell what i thought the answer would be, right?

but the answer was, basically, "if you withhold what I prompt you to give, then I am under no obligation to provide for your needs."

so yup, i got it all, despite what my logic thought.

cuz obedience is better than..... well, disobedience.

and yup, He will provide for my needs. i know it. i know that i know that i know it!

it's a FAITH THANG!

and that's God's wisdom.

anyways, tonight i thought me and mom could rent a movie (it's been MONTHS since i've rented a movie, if not over a year!) and watch it on my friends biggish screen tv (well, hey, it's bigger than mine) - i'm house-sitting for them, and they've given me free reign over their fridge, pantry, puter, AND long distance!!!!! MWHAHAHHAHAAHA..... anyways, yeah, they wouldn't mind us watching a movie and eating their popcorn, lol.

so we go to rent a movie, i figure a new release, but mom makes some kind of noise about non-new releases being cheaper.... well, the deal is, rent two get one free, so i figure for a week, we could watch three movies, right? so i find three movies, and can't help but keep looking in case there's something better, and i soon find another, and hey, the next deal is rent three get two free! so hey, it's a savings, right? and then, of course, there is that candy i ALWAYS get when we rent movies (i rarely have sugar treats, so it's a 'tradition! hehe).... and i resist the urge to get 'dvd insurance'. the grand total? over $21!!!!! all to save money on renting a new release, which would of cost what, $8 including the candy? well yeah, we now have 5 movies to watch, but gee, in order to save money i spent more money.

sucker.

but i look at $8 for one movie, and compare it to $21 for 5 movies, and yeah, it STILL seems like the better deal, y'know?

but that's man's wisdom.

cuz whats the spiritual value of wasting time (albeit enjoyably wasted time) on worldy movies?

well, you do get to see how the 'world' thinks, in case you somehow forgot.

but that argument/debate/wishywashing could go on forever!!!

see? man's wisdom. wayyyyy below God's wisdom. our ways are definately NOT His ways. cuz many people would say blowing big bucks on a baby shower when i'm near broke is stupid.... but not to God. it's like the widow who gave only a penny... but it was her only penny, period. a faith thang. but the world tells us that 5 movies (rent three get two free) is a deal. so we reason and rationalize and try to be good stewards.... and reason and rationalize ourselves out of the perfect will of God.

but He allows it for a reason.... tonight, i learned a good lesson: i'm a first class sucker!

****
postscript: the movie we watched tonight was called "Mean Creek", and it was REAAALLLYYY good. i can't say awesome, becuase only God is awesome, y'know? hehe. anyways, it's about a boy who gets beat up... then his older brother and his friends come up with a way to 'teach the bully a lesson' by pulling a prank on him... but it turns tragic. if you've led a sheltered life and have virgin ears, there is a lot of juvenile sex jokes and general potty mouth at the beginning, so if it's something you havent heard before you may not want to expose yourself to it.... but if it's nothing new to you, it's worth tolerating because it sets the scene realistically and it's stuff i heard in high school frequently, and that was a naive 15-17 years ago! lol. it examines heavy moral issues, and why people 'turn out' the way they do... worth the rental for sure. rated R, and i give it 'two thumbs up', lol.