How to Spend

Mark 9:33-37 (NRSV)

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

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Spend it on love,
Spend it on the children,
Spend it on the ones who need it the most.

"Spend It On Love" by Bob Walkenhorst from "The Good News and The Bad News" by The Rainmakers.

Priorities, ultimately everything that ever gets done or undone is because of priorities. Is something too important to let go? Is something so routine that it is left for another day? When does yesterday's optional become today's urgent?

Jesus placed a high priority on the children. “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” Whoever spends a dollar on a child spends a dollar for the Kingdom of God.

There are more than enough opportunities to spend money on things that do not point to love. Money spent on avarice and greed sure don't go toward love. Money spent on things that don't protect, defend, or educate a child are not spent on love. As Bob sings, "lottery tickets and beer" just don't cut it.

Just as important as money is time. People spend hundreds of thousands of hours working every year to "provide the finer things in life" for their families, the problem is that nobody gets to enjoy them. Wasting money is one thing, but time wasted can never be retrieved.

Bob Walkenhorst, lead singer and principle songwriter for The Rainmakers, was inspired to write this song after driving past a polling place on an election day many years ago. Going by, he saw kids holding up signs that said "Spend It On Us!" To be first, you have to be the servant of all, especially those who are the weakest of us all, the children. When future generations are blessed, the present generation is blessed too.