The Bag Lady Nightmare -- FPC sermon excerpt
Nearly half of women fear life as a bag lady.
I’m not kidding: 46 percent of women suffer from what is now called “bag lady syndrome.”
They might have good salaries, money in their purses, decent savings and investments — but still they are afraid that they will wind up broke, forgotten, and destitute.
Bag ladies.
According to The Washington Times (August 23, 2006), a recent survey of almost 2000 women reveals that 90 percent of them feel financially insecure. Forty-six percent are troubled by a “tremendous fear of becoming a bag lady,” and this anxiety actually increases as incomes rise. Among those with annual incomes of more than $100,000, 48 percent of women fear a life of destitution.
I’m talking about successful women such as Lily Tomlin, Gloria Steinem, Shirley MacLaine and Katie Couric. “All admit to having a bag lady in their anxiety closet,” writes MSN money columnist Jay McDonald. They all suffer from the bag lady nightmare.
What’s going on here?
Women have complicated fears about money. “They fear failure, or making mistakes,” observes Judith Briles, a financial advisor. They fear they are expendable.” Because of this, women are twice as likely as men to set aside a secret stash of money. Two-thirds of the women surveyed said that the best thing about having money is the sense of security it brings.
Men might crave the power or status that comes with money. But women like the security. Is this true for you?
A woman named Lydia appears in Acts 16, and it is clear that she is a financially secure resident of the city of Philippi. She owns a business and a home. She is a “dealer in purple cloth” (16:14), having come from the well-known textile city of Thyatira. The color purple is significant because purple clothing is the mark of wealth and royalty in the Roman world — to be dressed in purple is to boast of influence and power. So Lydia has a close connection to the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and there is very little chance that she will wind up broke, forgotten, and destitute.
Does Lydia fall victim to the bag lady nightmare? The Book of Acts doesn’t say. What Acts 16 does describe is how she responds to the preaching of the gospel. And based on her response, we can come to a critically important conclusion: She is motivated by faith, not by fear.
I’m not kidding: 46 percent of women suffer from what is now called “bag lady syndrome.”
They might have good salaries, money in their purses, decent savings and investments — but still they are afraid that they will wind up broke, forgotten, and destitute.
Bag ladies.
According to The Washington Times (August 23, 2006), a recent survey of almost 2000 women reveals that 90 percent of them feel financially insecure. Forty-six percent are troubled by a “tremendous fear of becoming a bag lady,” and this anxiety actually increases as incomes rise. Among those with annual incomes of more than $100,000, 48 percent of women fear a life of destitution.
I’m talking about successful women such as Lily Tomlin, Gloria Steinem, Shirley MacLaine and Katie Couric. “All admit to having a bag lady in their anxiety closet,” writes MSN money columnist Jay McDonald. They all suffer from the bag lady nightmare.
What’s going on here?
Women have complicated fears about money. “They fear failure, or making mistakes,” observes Judith Briles, a financial advisor. They fear they are expendable.” Because of this, women are twice as likely as men to set aside a secret stash of money. Two-thirds of the women surveyed said that the best thing about having money is the sense of security it brings.
Men might crave the power or status that comes with money. But women like the security. Is this true for you?
A woman named Lydia appears in Acts 16, and it is clear that she is a financially secure resident of the city of Philippi. She owns a business and a home. She is a “dealer in purple cloth” (16:14), having come from the well-known textile city of Thyatira. The color purple is significant because purple clothing is the mark of wealth and royalty in the Roman world — to be dressed in purple is to boast of influence and power. So Lydia has a close connection to the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and there is very little chance that she will wind up broke, forgotten, and destitute.
Does Lydia fall victim to the bag lady nightmare? The Book of Acts doesn’t say. What Acts 16 does describe is how she responds to the preaching of the gospel. And based on her response, we can come to a critically important conclusion: She is motivated by faith, not by fear.
posted by Henry Brinton | 2:55 PM
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