Wednesdays in the World - Too Rich to Spend It

Okay, in true Christmas spirit... I'm going for classic films that remind us the the holidays... namely: Lazy Sunday, FunTwo's Canon in D, and Some Guy's Christmas Lights.

What? You mean those aren't classic holiday films? Oh, well they are for Steve Chen and Chad Hurley. See, those are the guys that started YouTube, that website that everyone knows about. You see, those videos are a few of the ones that made YouTube famous. Steve and Chad didn't make the videos, they just let other people share them. See, YouTube lets you post videos and see other people's videos. All with no downloads or plugins or what nots... It's huge, if you didn't know... Steve and Chad started it for fun 2 years ago, and just recently, they sold it to Google for 1.65 BILLION dollars.... Yes, that was BILLION.

There's an interesting Time magazine article about Steve and Chad. Read it Here.

There are a few things I'm learning from the YouTube guys this Christmas.

1. I'm totally jealous that I didn't think of it. Seriously... 1.65 Billion? In two years?
2. Chad and Steve are filthy stinking rich, but they don't act like it.
3. I'm not.... Or am I?
4. If I'm rich like Chad and Steve, why don't I act like it?

Okay, let's explore. YouTube is a great idea. It let's people share anything. People are putting stupid things on YouTube, and people are sharing the gospel on YouTube. Unlike some community websites, it doesn't pretend to replace person to person interaction. It's like a blog in motion... for better or for worse. It's now a multi-billion dollar website. I didn't make it.

In the Time article, we read that Chad and Steve are now rich. But they fly coach, and they drive beat up mini-vans. Let me tell you right now: If I had 1.65 billion dollars, I wouldn't be driving a mini-van. I'd be driving an Aston Martin Vanquish (in British Racing Green) or something else off this list.

See, they're rich. But they can't spend it. There's all sorts of reasons why - legal stuff, potential lawsuits, etc. They should be able to buy anything that they want, but they're squeezing in next to you and me in the back of the plane.

There's something there that strikes me... I mean these guys own the world. But they're not living like it. Now, I'm certainly not rich, but I have something of incredible value - the imputed righteousness of Christ. Now, you might argue that it's no Aston Martin, but what that means is that I've essentially got the keys to the kingdom of heaven. All cheesy Christian cliches aside, I stand to inherit all the riches of God because of what Christ has done on my behalf. Google has bought my company for a bazillion dollars. But here I am driving a Ford Aerostar. I live day in and day out like I have nothing. I fly coach in my daily decisions. I exchange mud pies for a holiday at sea.

Why do I do that? Biblically, I have something more that Chad and Steve, but I don't act like it.

So I'm thinking about that this week. And I 'm wondering if I really am rich. And I'm wondering why I'm constantly replacing riches for trash and settling for coach. Maybe Monday will bring something more than more trash. Maybe it'll bring an awareness of the riches I already have.