Stop Buying the Image and Start Buying Your Freedom

There is a saying that ought to make every one of us stop, sit down and take a serious look at how we are living: “Rich people buy time. Poor people buy things. Middle-class people buy the appearance of being rich.”

Now, before somebody gets offended, understand that I am not talking about how much money you make. I am talking about how you think about the money God has allowed to pass through your hands. Because I've lived long enough to discover that there is a difference between having money, looking like you have money and having the freedom that money is supposed to provide. And sometimes the people who look the richest are the ones who are struggling the most.

We are living in a generation where people would rather LOOK successful than actually BE successful. We have become so consumed with impressing people that we are willing to go broke trying to convince them we are wealthy. We drive cars we can barely afford, to jobs we cannot stand, to make payments on things we do not need, just to impress people who are too busy trying to impress somebody else. And the tragedy is that everybody is performing, but nobody is free!

Now, let's talk about the first group. There are people who buy things because things make them feel like they are moving forward. A new phone. A new outfit. A new television. A new pair of shoes. Something tangible that says, "I'm doing all right." And I understand that. When you have struggled, when you have gone without, when you have spent years watching other people enjoy things you could not afford, sometimes being able to purchase something for yourself feels like a victory. And there is nothing wrong with enjoying the fruits of your labor.

But here is where we get into trouble. We begin confusing consumption with progress. Just because you bought something new does not mean your life has moved forward. Just because your closet is full does not mean your future is secure. Just because you have the latest phone does not mean you have made the wisest call. And just because you have more possessions does not mean you have more peace.

Some of us have spent so much money buying things to make ourselves feel better that we have neglected the very things that could make our lives better. We have invested in our appearance but neglected our opportunities. We have upgraded our wardrobes but not our wisdom. We have upgraded our phones but not our financial understanding. We have upgraded our automobiles but not our ability to build something that will last beyond our lifetime. And I hear the words of Jesus in Mark 8:36: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

I want to borrow that question and bring it into our everyday lives. What does it profit you to have everything people can see, while losing everything that really matters?

Now, here is where I believe some of us are going to get uncomfortable. Because there is another group of people who make enough money to appear successful but are financially trapped trying to maintain that appearance. They have the title. They have the career. They have the beautiful home. They have the luxury automobile. They have the designer clothes. And from the outside looking in, everybody believes they have made it. But what nobody sees is the pressure behind the presentation. Nobody sees the sleepless nights. Nobody sees the credit card balances. Nobody sees the anxiety when the mortgage comes due. Nobody sees the fear of missing one paycheck. Nobody sees the person sitting in a beautiful house wondering how they are going to keep the lights on. They are not living wealthy. They are performing wealth. And performing wealth may be one of the most expensive performances in America. Because the admission price is your freedom. The monthly payment is your peace. And the final cost may be the future you could have built.

Some of us are not struggling because we don't make enough money. Some of us are struggling because we are spending too much money trying to look like we make more than we do. Now, I know that is not everybody's story. Some families are working hard and still struggling because wages have not kept pace with the cost of living. Some people are doing everything right and barely getting by. But for those of us who have room to make different choices, we have to ask ourselves a difficult question: Who are we trying to impress? The neighbor who doesn't pay our bills? The coworker who doesn't know our struggles? The people on social media who only see the highlight reel? Or the folks sitting in the same financial prison, pretending they are free?

Listen to me. You can spend your whole life trying to look rich in front of people who are going broke trying to look rich in front of you! And when the applause stops, the bills are still due.

Here is the lesson I wish somebody had taught more of us when we were young. People who build lasting wealth often learn to think differently about time. They understand that money is a resource, but time is a gift that cannot be replaced. So instead of asking only, "Can I afford this?" they begin asking, "What will this cost me in time?" Will this purchase force me to work another five years? Will this debt keep me from spending time with my family? Will this lifestyle require me to sacrifice my health, my peace and my purpose? Will this investment create opportunities for my children? Will this decision bring me closer to freedom or deeper into financial bondage? Because here is what I have learned: You can make more money, but you cannot make more yesterday.

You can replace a car. You can replace a house. You can replace a television. You can replace a wardrobe. But you cannot replace the years you spent chasing things that never truly satisfied you. You cannot purchase back the birthdays you missed. You cannot purchase back the conversations you never had. You cannot purchase back the moments when your children needed your presence more than your presents. And you certainly cannot purchase back the time God gave you to fulfill your purpose.

Psalm 90:12 reminds us: "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Notice what the Scripture says. It does not tell us to number our dollars. It tells us to number our days. Because God understands something we often forget. Our greatest resource is not what is in our bank account. It is what remains on the clock of our lives.

Somewhere along the way, we started believing that being blessed meant looking expensive. We started measuring God's favor by square footage, horsepower, designer labels and the number of zeros in a bank account. But I came by today to remind somebody that everything expensive is not valuable, and everything valuable is not expensive. Peace is valuable. Good health is valuable. A loving family is valuable. A clear conscience is valuable. The ability to sleep at night without worrying about how you are going to pay for yesterday's decisions is valuable. Being able to help somebody without putting yourself in financial jeopardy is valuable. Being able to tell your employer, "I have options," is valuable. Being able to retire with dignity is valuable. Being able to leave your children an inheritance instead of a stack of unpaid bills is valuable. And none of those blessings requires you to impress a single soul.

Proverbs 13:7 says: "There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches." You can make yourself appear rich and still have nothing. And you can live modestly while possessing something far more valuable than the world can see. That is why I have come to believe that real wealth is not always loud. Sometimes wealth drives an old car that has been paid for. Sometimes wealth lives in a modest house without a mortgage. Sometimes wealth wears ordinary clothes and has extraordinary peace. Sometimes wealth looks like a grandmother who has enough money saved to help her grandchildren through college. Sometimes wealth looks like a father who can leave work early to watch his daughter play basketball. Sometimes wealth looks like somebody who can say, "I don't need that," and mean it. Because the greatest flex in life is not proving that you can afford something. It is having the freedom to walk away from something you don't need.

As I get older, I find myself thinking less about what I can acquire and more about what I can leave behind. And I am not just talking about money. I am talking about wisdom. I am talking about opportunity. I am talking about a foundation upon which the next generation can build. Because too many of our children are starting from scratch, not because their parents didn't work hard, but because nobody taught the family how to turn income into assets, assets into opportunity and opportunity into generational stability.

We have taught our children how to dress for success. But have we taught them how to save for it? We have taught them how to drive expensive cars. But have we taught them how interest works? We have taught them how to recognize designer labels. But have we taught them how to recognize a good investment? We have taught them how to spend money. But have we taught them how to make money work for them? And perhaps most importantly, have we taught them that their value as human beings has absolutely nothing to do with what they own? Because if we don't teach them, somebody else will. And that somebody may be a corporation that profits every time our children confuse their self-worth with their purchasing power.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 13:22: "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children." That inheritance can include financial resources, but it should also include character, discipline, wisdom, faith and the understanding that freedom is worth more than applause.

As I close, let me leave you with this. The next time you are about to spend money on something you don't need, ask yourself three questions. Am I buying this because I need it, because I enjoy it and can afford it, or because I want somebody else to see me with it? Will this purchase improve my life, or simply improve somebody else's opinion of my life? And finally, is this decision moving me closer to freedom or further away from it?

Because one day the car will get old. The clothes will go out of style. The latest phone will become yesterday's technology. The people you worked so hard to impress will find somebody else to admire. And the applause you sacrificed so much to receive will eventually fade. But the time you invested in your family, the wisdom you passed down to your children, the people you helped, the lives you touched and the purpose you fulfilled will outlive the things you purchased.

So stop measuring your success by what people can see. Stop confusing being admired with being secure. Stop allowing somebody else's expectations to become your financial obligations. Stop spending tomorrow's freedom trying to finance today's image. And above all, stop believing that you have to look wealthy to live a rich life. Because a rich life and an expensive lifestyle are not the same thing.

One can bring you peace. The other can rob you of it. One can give you choices. The other can leave you chained to payments. One can help you build a legacy. The other can leave you with nothing but receipts. And I don't know about you, but at this stage of my life, I would rather have peace than prestige. I would rather have freedom than fame. I would rather have options than obligations. I would rather own a little and control my time than own a lot and have my possessions control me. And if God blesses me with more, I want the wisdom to do more than simply buy more. I want to help more. Build more. Give more.Live more. And leave more behind.

Because when my time on this earth is finished, I don't want people standing over my grave talking about what kind of car I drove, what kind of clothes I wore or how expensive my house was. I want somebody to be able to say: "He didn't just make a living. He made a difference." And that, my brothers and sisters, is a kind of wealth that money alone will never be able to buy. Stop buying the image. Start building your freedom. Because the goal is not to look like you have it all. The goal is to live a life where what matters most doesn't have to be sacrificed for what matters least. And that's my view from the pew.