In review of Philippians 3:7 Paul tells me, “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done” (NLT).
I need to be careful about considering past achievements and accomplishments as being so important that they get in the way of my having a relationship with Christ. Every time I give, I reveal what matters to me. How I spend my money and time, reveals what matters most to me. Even my schedule reveals what matters most.
I’m learning that life is not about things. It’s about learning how to love. If at the end of my life I’ve acquired a giant pile of things but I’m estranged from my family or friends, I’ve missed the point!
When I am generous with my time, money, effort, and energy, I’m saying that God and people are what matter most. To put it another way, what matters most is love.
So how can I break the grip of materialism? There’s only one way. The antidote for getting is giving. So every time I’m generous and give to others or to God, then I’m actually breaking the hold of materialism in my life.
“We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives” (Philippians 3:20 NLT). My purpose in life is not to live for the here and now, but rather to store up that which matters for eternity! I’m not building a pile on this side of eternity. I need to be building into people and relationships that will matter on the other side of eternity. I should be living in light of heaven.
In summary, things and achievements should not be more valuable to me than what Christ has done. They should not get in the way of my having a relationship with him. So when I give of my time and money I reveal what matters most to me. Life is not about things, rather it is about learning how to love. When I'm generous with my time, money, effort and energy, I'm saying that God and people are what matter most. To break the grip of materialism, I need to learn to give. My purpose in this life is to not live for now, but to build up what will matter in eternity.
If someone were to look at my schedule, they would they say that work, and grandchildren, light serving at church and watching TV are what is most important to me. I believe this is because I spend a lot of time during the week commuting and working. When I get home it’s dark now and hard to do anything but run light errands. I don’t seem to make any time to get together with others. When it comes to giving, my wife and I strive to be generous, giving to the church and other ministries, our children to help with childcare. I do believe I may need to examine my motivation for my giving. I shouldn’t be prideful of it. I should be thinking of it as loving and serving others.
Today Father I pray for the reminder of building for eternity in what I do. I also ask for wisdom, guidance, and perspective for today’s activities. Help me lead and be of service to others. Help me in my interactions with others so that they can be loving and helpful. These things I pray in your Son Jesus name, Amen.
0 comments:
Post a Comment