C.S.
Lewis said it well: “It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the
other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at heaven and you
will get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you will get neither.”
Ensure
that you are living for eternity, not just for today. Existentialism (living the
life/living for the day) offer empty promises of joy and happiness that lead
directly to short-sighted affluence. Pastor Challies explains that we need to understand
that we are not the owner of our wealth but only the steward of it. Do you own
your possessions and life or does God? Do our possessions and lifestyle own us
or does God own us and dictate our lifestyle by His holy Word? The Lord intends
for us to use our affluence in all areas responsibly in the knowledge that He
will call us to account for the talents that He has given; where we desire to
hear the words of Matthew 25:23, ‘Well done, good
and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you
ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” Use the loving
provisions of God with a view of eternity.
Matthew
6:19-20 “Do not lay up for
yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves
break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Jesus said in Luke
12:15, “Take heed and beware
of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the
things he possesses.” We are not to build “bigger barns” – Luke 12:13-21. Whatever we acquire here
will be left here. You can’t take it with you when you go. There are no U-Haul
trailers hooked to the back of a Hearse going to the cemetery. But, whatever we
invest in God’s cause will endure for all eternity. From an eternal perspective,
we see that affluence and wealth in all areas of our lives is meaningless if it
is not directed to those purposes that last forever. Any affluence and wealth of
living from God that we receive is meant to be a blessing, not a curse. Our
wealth of God provision is meant to be a joyful responsibility that frees us to
do good to others and bring glory to God.
Ecclesiastes
5:10 “Whoever loves money
never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.”
Pastor
Challies explains that there is nothing wrong with the provisional affluence
that the Lord proves us, but we can turn good into bad when we shift our
allegiance from the One who gives the gift to the gift itself. We can have
distorted thinking that our possessions and life-style promises contentment but
in reality deliver only emptiness. That our wealth of life promises joy but
delivers only obsession. That our abundance promises freedom but delivers only
captivity ... just a little more. It really gets down to covetousness. But when
we flee that affluence-based greed, we are able to enjoy the Giver through the
gifts which He provides to us. We are able to invest our provisions from God in
the only cause that endures forever. That is true love, joy, peace and
contentment.
In
Christ, Brian
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