It has been FAR too long since I posted to my “Contemplating the Word” journal. Life has a way of getting in the way of important aspects of your life. While I still have my daily quiet time wherein I read the Bible and other devotionals and converse with God, I strayed from posting my thoughts to this journal. That is one omission I plan to correct in the New Year.
One of the daily devotional books I read is Max Lucado's Grace for the Moment. I own both volumes, and have read them several times. I find that different devotionals impact me at different times. A particular devotional may not have a tremendous impact on me one day, but on another day it speaks volumes. That is why I like to read and re-read these devotionals regularly … and it is the same reason we should all be reading the Bible on a daily basis.
One of my favorite devotionals from Grace for the Moment (Volume 1) is entitled “Grace upon Grace.” In it, Lucado discusses the subject of contentment and grace, and sites the following Scripture passage:
"I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens."
--Philippians 4: 11
He asks this important yet disturbing question:
“What if God's only gift to you were his grace to save you. Would you be content? You beg him to save the life of your child. You plead with him to keep your business afloat. You implore him to remove the cancer from your body. What if his answer is, ‘My grace is enough.’ Would you be content?”
Wow. What a troubling question. Is God's gift of salvation enough? It sure should be. Yet, every day I pine after earthly goods in my never-ending lust for more. How can I ever live without that latest electronic gadget? My cell phone works just fine, but the latest I-phone with all the fancy applications is something I tell myself I just can't live without. I can watch my favorite programs on television, but wouldn't they look so much better on a big screen LCD … in Hi-Def? My car starts and gets me to wherever I want to go, but wouldn't it be so much cooler to be driving a fancy new SUV or Mercedes?
More, more, more. That is the mantra of our society. When will we say, “Enough. I have enough."? When will be content with what we have ... what God in His grace has given us? Is the fact that he sent His only Son to pay the price for our sins and grant us eternity in heaven enough for us? I sure want it to be, but the lures of this earth are often so irresistible.
I struggle with this issue regularly. Oh, I don’t seem to think much about it when I stop in a convenience store and grab a bag of chips, or throw a bag of Little Debbie snack cakes into the shopping cart. For some reason, spending a few extra bucks doesn’t bother me – even though it probably should. However, whenever I’m contemplating spending a considerable amount of money, I struggle. Questions arise. Do I really need a new TV, a new video game system, a new trinket to decorate the home? (Let’s not even talk about board games!) Don’t I already have enough? Of course I do, but the urge to buy, to have more, is a persistent temptress.
The Bible is filled with warnings about “serving two masters” and chasing worldly goods. Consider this passage from Luke:
“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
-- Luke 12: 15
Note: It is well worth reading the rest of this passage, which is entitled “The Parable of the Rich Fool.” The man builds bigger barns to store all of his crops, vowing to “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” He is chastised by God for his greed, and his life is taken from him that very night. The lesson in the final paragraph is blunt: “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Here are a few more:
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”
-- 1 Timothy 6: 6-10
“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
Clearly the Bible warns us against greed and focusing on worldly goods and riches. We are instructed to focus on the eternal – those things that will have eternal consequences … and even eternal rewards. Serving others, helping those in need, spreading God’s love to a desperate world – those are the things upon which we should be concentrating. If you are blessed with a good job and a decent income, don’t hoard your wealth. Share it. Yes, pay your bills and provide for your family, but don’t go to an excess. Give to the poor and help those in need, whether they reside in your local community or a distant country that you can’t even locate on a map. You cannot turn on your television or read the newspaper without seeing the desperate plight of millions of people. Do you just turn the channel or skip over that article as you move onto the latest Wal-Mart or Best Buy ad? Remember John’s warning:
“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”
-- 1 John 3: 17
The lesson being pounded into us is this: be content with what you have. If you have been blessed with an abundance, give freely to those less fortunate and those in need. Spread your wealth and God’s love to those in need in your own community and to the far reaches of the globe. It is these acts of love and generosity that will have eternal consequences and leave a legacy of love long after you have passed from this Earth.
“Keep your lives free from love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.’”
-- Hebrews 13: 5
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3 comments:
Greg,
So often we confuse what we need with what we want. Parents will sometimes try to explain to a child the difference between what the child needs and what they want. Those same parents also know how well received that message is. But who explains that to us as we become adults? As Adults, who are we willing to listen to and obey? We all claim to know that answer but do we actually abide by it?
Dusty
I struggle with this one Greg. Especially since my mom died. And for me, the question isn't really about God's willingness or ability to give me THINGS--I rarely ask God for material things, anyway. But I struggle with the question of how much God can or does interfere with our lives in order to heal, to take away cancer, to save a child, or a country, to stop atrocities, etc. I mean, these thing DO happen, and they happen to good, believing, faithful people. So if he CAN stop them, why doesn't he? The age old Christian question, right? IS God's grace his only gift to us? In some ways, I find it easier to believe in his love if that is true, because then he isn't heartlessly permitting these horrible things--they simply happen because the world is a fallen place. But his great gift of grace is sufficient, in the end, to lead us back to joy, regardless. Well, anyway, just some things I've been pondering this year. Thanks for sharing. I love the quote and your thoughts on it!
Sheila
In my seminary studies yesterday, we were looking at different "indicators" of a fruitful, growing Christian life.
One of the keys that surfaces often in the Bible is contentment, including seeing the benefit of suffering (producing character and faith in the "hope that does not disappoint"). In the middle of the self-help craze, we find our faith to be, yet again, counter-cultural, in that becoming a Christian does not at all guarantee happiness--at least in the worldly sense.
A friend of mine even went so far as to give an unusual--yet very authentic--testimony. It went something like this: "Before I became a Christian, my life was moving along the way I wanted it, but after I gave my life to Christ, everything completely fell apart and I went through some of the worst suffering I ever have!"
For me, it often takes suffering to shake me out of a superficial life, and the depth of relationship that I have with Jesus is the only reliable source of true contentment.
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