Money, Birth Control, Gambling & My Mindset--Countering the Cultures' Influence On My Money

 

Evangelist John T. Edmerson

www.transformingfamilies.blogspot.com

“An INFORMED family is a TRANSFORMED family”

The Pervasive Power of Money

Formerly titled: Financial Desperation, 

“What Will I Do To Get Paid”

Kingdom Economic Series, Sermon #1

Introduction—Flashback—Sermon Series Review

Over the next several weeks, we are returning to a series of messages highlighting the influence and reach of today’s culture in modern Christianity. The Christian is facing the demonic diabolical triple-threat; Sin, Satan & the Culture.  Individually these three enemies of the cross are formidable foes. Together, they have destroyed families, careers, churches, businesses and even countries. These are true spiritual weapons of mass destruction. Nuclear bombs and missiles have nothing on these three!

At the end of 2011, we highlighted the Culture (or world) as the most powerful weapon of the three. I still have not changed my opinion. The culture is the strongest of the three. This Sunday’s message will seek to reiterate that, again.

Money is pervasive and powerful. By pervasive, I mean that money and/or the pursuit or seeking for money is spread out. It’s everywhere.  The OJay’s even had a song that talked about Money. Here are a portion of the lyrics from the OJay’s song, For The Love of Money:

Money money money money, MONEY
Money money money money, MONEY
Money money money money, MONEY
Money money money money, MONEY
Money money money money, MONEY

Money money money money, MONEY

Some people got to have it
Hey, Hey, Hey - some people really need it
Hey, listen to me, y'all do thangs, do thangs, do thangs - bad thangs with it
Well, you wanna do thangs, do thangs, do thangs - good thangs with it - yeah

Un Huh, talkin' bout cash money, money
Talkin' bout cash money - dollar bills y'all - come on, now

Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah

For the love of money
People will steal from their mother

For the love of money
People will rob their own brother

For the love of money
People can't even walk the streets

Because they'll never know who in the world they're gonna beat

For that mean, oh mean, mean green
Almighty Dollar!...

Yes, even the OJay’s understood the pervasive power of money!

In Sunday’s sermon we will explore the carnal mindset that money "can” produce. This mindset is not automatic. It is intentionally inwardly crafted by a person being under the influence of a culture that paints money as being the great god that gives wealth, fame and power. This is an illusion. Yet, this illusion has enticed people to do all kinds of things in the name of  wanting to get paid. Money can make you do things that you would not ordinarily do. Money can make you go places that you would not ordinarily go. Here are two examples:

Example#1

Below, you will read about money and its influence with a younger generation of girls and boys. Girls are to be chided for not being more aware of money and how it affects the giving of their body. Boys need to be chided for using money to unlawfully persuade girls to have sex with them. Money can be a spiritual monster. The love of money is spiritual quicksand that drags people into a way of thinking that destroys their faith.

Example #2

Click here for an article that discusses New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo and how he wants to use gambling proceeds to fund budget woes for the state of New York. In bringing gambling to NY on a broad scale, the research says that Governor Cuomo will morally bankrupt his constituents by doing so. It’s a shame. Governor Cuomo is doing an end around versus making the tough calls that would allow him to balance his budget. Again, the love of money is a monster!

Come on out Sunday as we look at ways that we are influenced to do the same. Ways that we are influenced to use money at the expense of our faith and mission as believers. We’ll also discover some practical solutions to countering this ungodly mindset. Don’t miss this message. Bring your children and yourself!

--jte

Money Seems to Matter for Teen Girls, Condoms

By MIKAELA CONLEY

Teen girls whose primary source of spending money comes from their boyfriends are less likely to use condoms, according to a new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine obtained data from an HIV prevention study that included 715 African-American teen girls in the Atlanta area.

Almost a quarter of the females (ages 15 to 22) attending family-planning centers said their primary source of spending money was from their boyfriends, rather than from their parents or grandmothers or jobs. The teens were 10 percent more likely not to have used condoms in the previous 60 days.

Few girls reported using other methods of contraception, researchers said, and girls whose boyfriends owned cars were also about 50 percent more likely to not use condoms than those whose boyfriends did not own cars.

"After matching the groups on over 75 characteristics, the teens whose primary source of spending money was their boyfriend were still 50 percent more likely not to use condoms, and they were less likely to respond to the HIV prevention intervention," said Janet Rosenbaum, lead author of the study and research faculty at the Maryland Population Research Center in College Park.

Women with less relationship bargaining power -- and hence limited ability to insist on safe sex -- are particularly at risk of condom nonuse, the authors wrote.

In a way, these girls are trading unsafe sex for money, Rosenbaum said, even though most of them reported being in long-term and monogamous relationships."Medical interventions alone will not cure or solve the problem of nonuse of condoms," said Dr. Paula Hillard, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford School of Medicine. "We need societal changes and changes in the messages we provide to adolescent girls. … We need to provide alternative messages about power and self-efficacy that will counter the tendency to succumb to coercive relationships and unsafe sex."

To counter these societal norms, Rosenbaum said clinicians must consider teens' economic circumstances when conducting safe sex interventions. "Teens may act unwisely in order to meet their material needs and wants," Rosenbaum said. "Interventions and clinicians may need to concentrate not just on safe sex behavior but also on helping teens to evaluate their needs versus wants." Plan B, the emergency contraception pill that can be taken up to 72 hours after having unprotected sex to prevent pregnancies, has made headlines as experts debate whether young teens should have access to it. But even with access, experts said, this would only be a drop in the bucket when it comes to preventing teen pregnancies altogether, particularly in the most underserved communities.

One solution would be to increase their trust of contraceptive methods that could not be detected or easily sabotaged by their partners such as intrauterine devices (IUD/IUS) or contraceptive injections to prevent pregnancy, at least, Rosenbaum said. "Increased access to contraception including Plan B is always helpful for disadvantaged populations, but it's not enough," Rosenbaum added.

"The best solution would be economic empowerment for these girls and their families, so that they do not rely on their boyfriends for spending money and use condoms consistently."