The down escalator is faster than the up escalator. That’s the saying of a friend of mine. The first time I heard him say it, I was caught off guard. “What was that? The down escalator?” He was referring to the ability we have to accumulate debt vs. our ability to accumulate savings.

Compare your savings account to your VISA bill. Is there any truth to that saying? Did you know that 25 per cent of Canadians owe between $10,000 and $40,000, and that 28 per cent don't even know the rate of interest they pay on their primary credit card? Many are on an escalator that descends quickly.

Of course, discipline is the key to dealing with this subject. Being a spontaneous personality, I know what it’s like to wander through an electronic store and drool over the latest gadgets. With the spotlights shining on their gleaming surfaces and the glitzy advertising campaigns, it’s hard to imagine that I don’t need a 42-inch─no, make it 60-inch─HDTV with the latest surround sound accessories.

In 2001, I was privileged to attend the International College for Officers in London, England. Each year, hundreds of Salvation Army officers from around the world gather together to spend time in fellowship and be challenged in our spiritual development. During my eight-week session, I met two Salvation Army officers who challenged my thinking. The first was a kind and quiet woman who at that time managed the social services work of The Salvation Army in Sri Lanka. What she was able to do with very little resources was astounding. She seemed to covet little, if anything, and her prayers were always filled with praise and thanksgiving. The second was a woman from South Africa that supported children who had been orphaned when their HIV-positive parents died. The majority of these children were also HIV-positive. With little to no medication to offer them, she said that we can only love them, feed them well and tell them of God’s grace. She was the picture of compassion and love.

It’s hard to stand under the lights of big box retail and not feel that our down escalators are taking us somewhere other than debt. They’re taking us to a world of self satisfaction where happiness is only found until the warranty is over. Then we return to find more of whatever it is that settles our unease.

As a seeker of stuff, I write this to remind myself of the words of Jesus: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Treasure in heaven! Now that’s one up escalator I would like to be on.

Major Fred Waters is an Area Commander in the Prairie & Northern Territories Division. Edmonton and the north is his perspective presently on family, friends and ministry. Fred enjoys outdoor activities such as camping, hiking and gardening. Together with his wife, Wendy, he has shared in the experiences of youth ministry, corps officership and administration.