If you think this post is going to be about the TV show, I am sparing us from that. I actually like the show, even though it is my wife who gets me to sit down and watch it every now and then. The best part of the show is what happens after the contest is over and people who have had their lives changed go back and teach others how to lose and keep off weight. Whenever someone has improved themselves and then pass it forward, it’s a good thing. But, I digress. It’s the time of year when we start setting our goals for the coming year and many people will set a financial goal for 2011 and that goal starts with wanting to know what their income will be. There is nothing wrong with this inquiry, but if the quest for more income becomes more than a goal and becomes an obsession then it can be very dangerous. I am reminded of many a friend and co-worker who when you really got under what was most important to them it was the chase for the almighty dollar and when that chase looked fleeting they would bolt from one job to another regardless of all other factors. It became an obsession and that chase became the biggest loser for them. What can happen is that we become fixated on how much money we are making, or not making and then all other parts of our work will become filtered, colored and jaded by that one part of being employed. It’s a slippery slope and one that we have to avoid. Paul puts wealth in an interesting category when in 1 Corinthians 7:30 he writes, “Happiness or sadness or wealth should not keep anyone from doing God’s work.” He was writing to church leaders, but he was writing to us too. If we allow our chase for wealth to become too important it can become a blocker and an obstruction for many other important facets of our lives. Being too fixated on what we earn, could earn or don’t earn can without us even knowing it, keep us from gaining the best parts of our lives and leave us instead becoming the biggest loser.

Reference: 1 Corinthians 7:30 (New Living Testament)