i had a customer that didnt have enough money on her card to finish her transaction, and then argued with me about how i couldnt reverse the payment or do anything until she gave me the remaining balance since part of it was already paid for. she then had me call a manager and told them how embarrassing it was that her bank was doing this for the “third time this month” just to have my manager back me up and tell her “that’s unfortunate, can you complete the payment?”
Here's why this is a perfect example of why money
has some kind of addicting power: Money can make
you an addict because it deceives you about how
much you actually have. [11:44]
The more money you have, the more in denial you
are about how much money you have. Look, it is a
simple empirical fact, the more money you have
& the more money you make, the smaller & of that
income you give away.
That's true across the board.
All the studies & statistics the smaller your income,
the greater percentage of your income you give to
charity—& the larger the income, then the smaller
the percentage of your income you give to charity.
Did you know that?
Why?! It's addicting, its denial towards the more
money you have — the less money you feel you
have.
That begins to show.
There's something really bad about money
spiritually, when it comes to what it does to
your heart—so how does that work?
I'd say one way is whenever your income increases
—in very small ways, usually very subtle, but it will
inevitably cause you to increase your expenses.
If your income increases you increase your expenses
• Well I can afford this now!
• I can do this & I've always wanted to do this
So as your income goes up, your expenses come up &
what's that mean? You can be making five times more
than you used to be making & you still feel strapped!
You don't actually feel like you have anymore money
at all. Wait a minute, you have 5x more money right?
Don't you feel that way??
That's the power money has over you, once you have
more, it puts you in denial — or here's the other thing
money always get you into places right? [13:17]
In other words, if you have money to buy an apartment
or a home in a particular neighborhood; next thing you
know or in that building—you're hanging out with other
people from that building.
And inevitably there are people in that building who
make a lot more than you. In other words, wherever
you end up, & whatever socioeconomic rung of the
ladder you're on
there's other people on that rung, you see
who actually are making more than you on
the same bracket—that way & this is scary
if you're worth 10 million dollars & yet you
are in a club with somebody who's worth a
hundred million dollars you don't feel like
you have that much money
You said “Well I'm not rich, that guy's rich! Man you want
rich? Look you know I've only got this—but that person's
got that & that & that…
And so you don't feel like you've got enough money to
give away—you don't feel like you're all that rich you &
you feel kind of strapped.
Do you know that's an addiction?
You know the rest of the world is not fooled, they know
how much money Americans have — they know how we
live & when we say:
“Oh we don't have enough money to give anymore
we have way more than the rest of the world, who
laughs at us because we're addicted to money
• See money has the power to blind you to itself.
• Money has the power to make you dishonest
Grace of Generosity P1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 | Timothy J. Keller [Luke 18:18-30]
