June 2018 SPECIAL EDITION July 2015 Issue | Page 8

July 2015
Continued from page 1

and electronic games first in our lives. And, of course, that’s what we do
when we say we have no time left over to pray and to serve in ministries
and charities. That’s what we do when we say we can’t come remotely
close to giving sacrificially because we have no money left over after we
pay our bills. What we’re really saying is things come first and God
comes last. What we’re really saying is we won’t diet. We’re saying we
won’t cut back on the things in our lives to create the time and money we
need to be Good Stewards. God gives us free will, so we can choose to
be fat. We have that right. But, when we get bloated on things, Jesus
says we should forget getting into heaven because we won’t fit through
the Pearly Gates.
Here’s a modern parable. Penny was the first person in her family
to go to college. She later went to medical school and to graduate school.
She got an M.D. and, in addition, a PhD in genetics. Penny founded her
own pharmaceuticals company and made hundreds of millions of dollars.
But, Penny always lived in a modest house. She, Like Pope Francis,
drove a Ford Focus. Penny gave ten percent of her gross income to
Church and another ten percent to charities. Penny died when she was
ninety-one. When she showed-up up at the Pearl