Mark visited my office for the third time in two months. He was slated to retire from his 35-year career at the local pharmaceutical company in December. He was not a client yet, but we had some really good discussions about his goals and his hopes for the future.

An advisor I knew from another firm was scrambling! He just finished a meeting with one of his largest clients. Heading into it, he felt confident because the market was up and the investments he recommended were up also. But his client threw him a curveball when he asked for a comparison of his portfolio to a benchmark of index funds.

Do you enjoy watching Jim Cramer on CNBC? If you are not familiar with him, he is the crazed, wide-eyed, stock picking guru whose show Mad Money has provided investors with advice since 2005. Give your 8-year old a bottle of Dr. Pepper at midnight and that’s how Jim Cramer acts on his show.

While teaching one day, Jesus told a story of a man who was busy working in a field. He was toiling away plowing, when he stumbled across an amazing treasure.

Imagine you are Japanese and the year is 1989. Your economy is booming. Companies like Sony and Toshiba are the darlings of the global stock market and are firing on all cylinders. You have everything you need financially. Your job is secure and the future looks bright.

“Conflict,” he told me, “is like fire. It can be used for such great purposes if handled correctly. It can be used for warmth. It can provide light. It can cook food. But if it is not managed the right way, it can cause death and destruction.”

Life can be so good! The highs you may experience after a perfect evening with your spouse or significant other can seem magical. Watching your kids or grandkids excel in something they love gives us new energy. We want to hold on to those moments forever.

At his richest, John D. Rockefeller owned 90% of all of the oil and gas industry. He owned 1% of the wealth in the entire United States. He was the richest of the rich and, adjusted for inflation, his wealth far surpassed guys like Bezos and Buffett today.

Jesus wants us to be free. He wants us to be free from sin. Free from grudges, free from guilt. Maybe this is why He talked a lot about loans and indebtedness. He knows that debt holds us back. It is a weight around our neck. It keeps us in jobs we hate and makes it harder for us to make good long-term decisions.