Priorities: Find yours.

       Let's start with a notice.  I reread what I wrote yesterday and found quite a few glaring grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors.  I have since corrected these and must apologize to any of you who care about those things.  The rest of you who didn't notice, well, ignore the first three sentences.
       Today I wanted to share with you some things that have been going through my head for a while.  Then I thought about it and realized that may be a little gross, so I decided to give you this instead.  Try and imagine the one thing that would change your life the most.  Think on it.  Don't just grab the easy, more money.  Try and think of something that would make a substantial change.  Something that involves more than paying the bills.  Something that would make a difference in how you thought of yourself and how you acted.  True, vast amounts of money might do that, but would it be a change you would be proud of?
        We have all had the dream of being rich and not having to worry about money.  Turns out, no matter what you do, you will eventually worry about money.  It's just the way we are.  If you don't have it, you worry about not having it and what you need it for.  If have some but not a lot, you worry that what you are doing with it is right.  If you have a lot of it, you worry about other people trying to take it and how you spend it.  True, the worries are different, but then, so are we.
        I like to go through this mental exercise every once in while, just to remind myself that money doesn't end all our problems, it just changes what those problems are.  It becomes more of an attitude adjustment at that point.  Yes, I would love to have a few hundred thousand dollars to get myself out of debt and living comfortably, but how would that change me and would I want that change?  There is always something I can improve on and money is not something that is key to those improvements.  Attitude is.  I find it funny that people think that they would be better people if they just had more money.  Not true.  If you are a jerk (to put it kindly) before you have money, you tend to be a jerk after you get it.  Money is an amplifier.  It usually amplifies the trait you least like about yourself.  The guy who never paid for a date, he spent all his money on cars, houses, and parties.  The guy who was rude to the homeless, he ignores his old friends because they can't afford to hang with him.
        There are exceptions, there always are.  But usually, what you see as exceptions, are just amplifications of the rule.  The couple that won the lotto and founded and ran several charities, they were active volunteers in their community before they won.  The guy who payed off his debts and the debts of his family, he was struggling to get by and paid his debts before he fed himself.  Money amplifies not only our personality, it amplifies our priorities.
        In the bible, it says, "the love of money is the root of all evil."  This has been perverted to "money is the root of evil."  While to a degree this is true, I think it is more accurate to say, "money amplifies evil."  The more money you have, the more obvious your priorities.  Ask yourself what you would do with the money if you won the lottery.  Would you invest it to make more?  Maybe you would pay off all your debt first.  Maybe you would give a bit to charity.  Or would you just spend it on a bunch of toys?  Where you put that money tells a lot about where your priorities are.  What you find important is where you will put your time and energy as well as your money.  By asking yourself these questions and being honest with the answers, you will find what you deem worthy of your time.
      Now for the clincher.  Where is your family on the list?  Is it first?  If not, what are you giving up your family for?  Now is the time to adjust your priorities, not when you win the lottery.  If your priorities are right now, they will be right later.
       In closing, I just want to say that, by investing in things that are worthwhile (I can't think of anything more worthwhile than my God and Family), you can't help but be content.  I am not saying you will be monetarily rich or that it will be easy.  I am saying that even when things are tough, you will be able to find a way to smile.  That investment will give you the strength you need to get through those tough times.  Take a second and discover your priorities.  Better to adjust them now and find contentment, then be miserable when you find your priorities left you alone.