lay not treasures on earth

It has been a tough few months. It is never enough what I do for my job. Lately I have been plotting hard on an exit strategy. I previous days when I felt I still need this job, I would read books like, "How to take this job and love it", plus a whole slew of others on how to enjoy work, how to put more into it, etc. It's hard. Now I read "Your money or your life" plus a whole slew of others on slowing down, on being more frugal so as not to need to work so much. The days ahead are going to be really tough, more is never enough. We can't drink enough coffee (Starbucks); eat enough burgers (McDonald's); drink enough sodas (Coca cola); live in bigger houses with a professional kitchen (Home Depot). These stores need to grow and they are going into every area of this planet earth. Where is the growth coming from? We need more sick people so we can fill more prescriptions (I'm a pharmacist)! The stock market fell more than 400 points yesterday. I'm celebrating, not because I hav no exposure, I do. I celebrate because I know how foolish it is to be so dependent on something so unstable and volatile as the stock market. The time is now to reassess our relationship between work and money. The bible says, "do not lay up treasures on earth which moths can destroy and people can steal, instead lay up treasures in heaven". Doing good for ourselves and others is a divine treasure. I read somewhere that treasures in heaven means our stock of virtue. Increase these stocks- love, kindness, honesty, diligence, patience, wisdom, knowledge, etc- and we can never fail even though the stock market crashes and burn. We can use our wit to climb back up. Emerson said, "There is a silent party to all our bargains". The bible says, "on the mountain of God, it shall be provided- Jehovah-jireh". Emerson also said, "There is no penalty to virtue; no penalty to wisdom; they are proper additions of being.... There can be no excess to love, none to knowledge, none to beauty...." There can be an excess to coffee stores, burger stores, Walmarts and Home Depot's. Decide today how you want to live. Gas prices went up again. Have you changed your driving habits? Are you still deciding on a truck even though you don't need one? Are you still shopping for more stuff? Are you paying for stuff to be stored? Why?