all to VISA we owe ...[clarificatied]

Folks blessed enough to have been born in the United States, especially since the 1980s, have enjoyed one of the highest standards of living in the world.

Kids born into the lifestyle of an affluent suburban household practically expect two new cars in the garage (if not two more parked in the driveway), expect to watch hi-def programming on a huge flat panel TV, expect to have cell phones, computers, entertainment centers, video games, iPods, new clothes every season, vacations, closets full of shoes, cosmetics and products, gym memberships, to eat out at least three times a week ... and yes, boats and all the rest.

We're so used to having and expecting things that we'll actually argue We're Entitled to a pre-determined standard of living. I mean, aren't we?

Heck, as Americans we even feel entitled to cheap gasoline. Not too long ago a friend described her feelings this way: "The price of gas isn't something Americans should have to worry about."

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I ran into Joe Sangl Sunday morning and mentioned that I'd watched In Debt We Trust. If you have even a single charge card in your purse or wallet I highly recommend you watch this film immediately ... before mailing in another "Pre-Approved Offer" or racking up another purchase on your Debtor's Card.

At one point in the movie, a married woman with children explains how she and her husband became hopelessly trapped in the revolving credit trap: "I grew up used to having things, and buying things with a credit card was the only way to afford them."

Actually, no: the point is she couldn't afford them at all. That's why she became trapped by debt. The charge card companies don't want you to live within your financial reality, no way. They spend billions on advertising to convince you that you're entitled to things ... and can't be happy without them.

But is there any such thing as a Happy Debtor at the end of the month, when all the revolving charges and interest come due?

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An awful lot of people suffering from charge card overload spent themselves into dread and sleeplessness because they'd convinced themselves that they were entitled to a certain standard of living, and that meant having lots of stuff.

They're used to having stuff because they grew up having stuff because their parents had stuff. (Remember for a moment that mom and dad had been married, working and saving for years to pay for- not charge- their stuff).

After watching the film the point occurred to me that while so many people, newly weds & singles alike, demand and argue their right to start off with the same material standard of living their parents gave them, I haven't heard many folks admit that their first expectation isn't having more stuff or achieving a certain material standard of living of at all ... but is attaining their parents' standard measured in marital trust, honesty, fidelity, intimacy and joy from finding, knowing and growing with each other in Christ.

Guess we're too busy pursuing happiness ... filling out charge card applications or financing a vacation home with a zero-money-down mortgage or finding a second job to make ends meet ... to even think about what we've missed in the chase.