a periodical from the desk of  Pastor White...

Working together...

Get Rid of Murphy...

Volume 4, Issue 8

August 30th, 2005

This title sounds like a harsh statement coming from a Christian publication. No, we do not want to get rid of a person called Murphy, and especially not the one Murphy's Law is named after, but we do want to change this particular law's underlying philosophy as it applies to your finances.

You are probably familiar with the traditional version of Murphy' s Law which states, "Anything that can go wrong, will." When this law is applied to your money management, it simply means that when one financial crisis happens, two, three or more additional monetary calami­ties are sure to follow in quick succession. The following scenario will illustrate this point.

       Imagine for a moment a beautiful spring day. You wish you didn't have to go to work this morning as the hiking paths and the lakeshore are calling you to come and enjoy the great outdoors. However, because you still have a house mortgage and

a vehicle loan, you decide that going to work is the more sensible choice and you head for your office.

Not to be discouraged, you put on your favorite music CD and are singing joyfully along with the vocalist when suddenly you hear a strange sound coming from your car's engine. You look at the indicators and gauges - no red light, and yet the unusual sound continues from under your hood, so you decide the best course of action is to stop at your local service station and speak to your favorite mechanic. He lifts up the hood and listens carefully to the various sounds coming from your engine, then straightens his back, looks you in the eye and says, "Nothing to worry about, it's only a gasket." With understandable fear you ask the cheap­skate question, "How much will a new gasket cost me?" "Approximately $25," he replies and you let out a financial sigh of relief. However, he then informs you that to replace the gasket he will have to pull out the engine - and that will cost you another $800.