The Journey 138

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Read: Luke 15: 11-31
Today is a very big day as far as Facebook is concerned.  Facebook is going to listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market and will begin its trading today, under brand symbol of “FB.”  Many people are eagerly waiting to get hold of owning some of the Facebook stocks, which according to the news agencies, reported yesterday in the night that the price could be around $35 to $38 per share . Thus Facebook Inc.’s IPO is going to be the largest ever IPO, in the history of an Internet company. Facebook is planning to raise about $11.8 billion which is far ahead than Google which raised about $1.67 billion 2004 IPO. But behind this landmark event another event has also made headlines yesterday. The co-founder of Facebook, Eduardo Saverin, has renounced his  U.S. citizenship before the listing of Facebook IPO. This is called by many eminent lawyers in the country as a move that Saverin is doing so that he is able to reduce his tax bill. Saverin is not the only person who has renounced his US citizenship, and it is claimed that he joins a increasing number of people who are now giving up their U.S. citizenship ahead of a possible government move to increase tax rates . For many people they feel that though the move of Saverin seems to be an action that is lawful yet they feel that his action tantamounts to ungratefulness to a country that helped him through his contacts and his educational background , to grow and market his talents and skills through social networking. One may not know the true intentions of Saverin in renouncing the US citizenship, but it in this context comes the whole moral issue of how do we value the place of money in our life, and as a Christian can we justify the means that we use to acquire  money or as some people say making ourselves financially sound.
This week we are meditating on the theme “ Transformation in my community”. The biblical portion that we are meditating is from Luke 15: 11-31. Here is a story of young man who wants to make a mark in his life. As we discussed yesterday, he had a wrong perspective of what faith, family and freedom is all about. It is this perspective also that bring into his life and distortion in what constitutes meaning in life. He acquires his “share” from his father and decides to enjoy life and also trying to make a mark for himself with his expertise and also trying to be financially sound. But soon he looses all his money probably because he was never handled money all by himself or he never was wise on how to invest money. Soon he finds himself totally bankrupt and on the verge of poverty. Here is man who was selfish and who felt that life is all about “ eat, drink and be merry”. Here is a man whose philosophy of life is not based on dedication, commitment or hard work but trying to be rich or enjoy life the easy way. It is here that Jesus teaches us a lesson. It is normal for every human being to desire a little more money so that he feels financially secure. But the quest for financial security needs to be seen through the providence of God and also in the values and the morals that we  uphold in life. If our trust is not in the providence of God then we can be very manipulative and will not have any qualms in adopting any immoral method to acquire  more money in life and this quest can be an unending quest that can have a disastrous effect in our life. Let us therefore look back into our life and see whether the motives that we uphold in our life is only to make a fast buck or through our commitment and dedication in life and in our Lord, we grow in life thus contributing not only in our life, not only qualitatively but also financially and also contributing to the society and country that we belong to.
How far are you ready to go if you are offered a fast buck?

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