Too Much Stuff

Don't Measure Life By What You Have

SYNOPSIS: One day, sooner than you think, you will stand before God. None of the things you have collected during your earthly journey are going with you. The only thing that will go with you into the next life that will do you any good is what you have done for God. Jesus said of the rich man in the parable, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?” As the poet said, “Tis one life, will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Too Much Stuff

Moments With God // Luke 12:15

Then Jesus said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

We don’t use words like covetousness or greed a whole lot these days, but we should. We Americans are a pretty greedy lot—me included. Our whole economic system is predicated on the hopes that you and I will grow dissatisfied with what we’ve got and go buy something newer, better, and bigger.

For instance, since Jesus told the story in Luke 12:16-20 about a man who thought his property was too small, let’s just take a look at our insatiable thirst for bigger homes. Did you know that the average home size in the United States was 1,000 square feet in the 1950’s, and while the average number of household residents has shrunk since the 1960’s, home size has grown to 2,467 square feet by 2015.

It was a whole different picture when I was growing up. My mom, dad, three other siblings, and a couple of family pets all lived comfortably in a home that was 1,200 square feet, if that. We shared bedrooms, bathrooms, clothes, didn’t have a garage to park our car in, and only one TV—with no remote control! We actually had to get up and walk across the room to change the channel, if you can imagine that.

And we didn’t think anything of it. We didn’t feel poor or cheated or even realize what we didn’t have. We were content! We spent a lot more time together as a family. We ate together. We all drove together in the same car, even when we were teenagers—a family of six crammed into an AMC Gremlin! Or was it a Hornet? Whatever—it was a really ugly car that should have never been made. My point is, we were happy as a lark—we didn’t know what we didn’t know.

We were content—and emotionally healthy. We had discovered what G.K Chesterton said, “True contentment is a real, even active virtue—not only affirmative but creative. It is the power of getting out of any situation all there is in it.”

As a society, we Americans would do well to read Luke 12. It is a tough one, but what Jesus had to say about the deceitfulness of wealth, the debilitating worry over stuff, and our ultimate accountability before God for the stewardship of what we possess is much-needed medicine for the greed that ails our society these days.

One day, sooner than you think, you will stand before God. None of the things you have collected during your earthly journey are going with you. The only thing that will go with you into the next life that will do you any good is what you have done with and for God through faith. Jesus said of the rich man in the parable, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?”

As the poet said, “Tis one life, will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Take A Moment: Here is a novel idea: Give away some of your stuff this week to someone who really needs it—and don’t replace it!

Room For Only One God

And It’s Not You!

There is room for only one God in your life, so let God be God. He has a great track record in that role, you know—and you don’t!

Enduring Truth // Focus: Psalm 131:1

My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.

There is only One who is God—and that’s not you! Basically, that is what the King David is saying of himself in this brief song of assent. The Message translates verse one this way:

God, I’m not trying to rule the roost,
I don’t want to be king of the mountain.
I haven’t meddled where I have no business
or fantasized grandiose plans.

Yet this business of godship is more prevalent than we care to admit. You see, when we fret and worry over matters we can’t control, when we meddle and manipulate to get our plans fulfilled, when we come to God after the fact for help, when we pray as a last rather than a first resort, when we cut corners in our financial stewardship because we can’t afford to give to the Lord’s work, and when we put our hope in government (or anything else) at the expense of our trust in God, in effect, we have removed God from his rightful throne.

There is room for only one God in your life, so let God be God. He has a great track record in that role, you know, and you don’t.

And by the way, when you allow God to be God, good things happen for you:

  • You become the recipient of greater grace. Recognizing God’s rightful role takes true humility (the opposite of pride and haughtiness), as David describes, “My heart is not proud, O LORD,my eyes are not haughty”—Psalm 131:1a. Of course, the Bible repeatedly tells us this is always the catalyst for greater grace. (Proverbs 3:34)
  • You become the recipient of greater security. You put things that are above your pay grade back into the hands of the only One wise enough to handle them—what David calls “great matters or things too wonderful for me” —Psalm 131:1b (See how Paul describes them in Romans 11:33-36)
  • You become the recipient of greater confidence. Someone else is running the universe, which means you don’t carry that great weight upon your shoulders. David says, “But I have stilled and quieted my soul” —Psalm 131:2a … which is possible only when you first walk with the Shepherd who leads you beside quiet waters and restores your soul.
  • You become the recipient of greater contentment. David describes it “like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content” —Psalm 131:2b (MSG) Paul says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” (I Timothy 6:6)
  • You become the recipient of greater hope. “O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore”—Psalm 131:3. It is by Biblical hope, as Paul teaches, “we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?” (Romans 8:24) “Hope” as Paul says in Romans 5:5, “does not disappoint us…”

Hmmm…grace, security, confidence, contentment, hope. I think I’ll let God be God!

Thrive: Have you told the Lord lately that you have no God but him? Maybe you should do it now!

Room For Only One God

Let God Be God

There is room for only one God in your life, so let God be God. He has a great track record in that role, you know—and you don’t!

Read: Psalm 131 // Focus: Psalm 131:1

“My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.”

There is only One who is God—and that’s not you! Basically, that is what the King David is saying of himself in this brief song of assent. The Message translates verse one this way:

God, I’m not trying to rule the roost,
I don’t want to be king of the mountain.
I haven’t meddled where I have no business
or fantasized grandiose plans.

Yet this business of godship is more prevalent than we care to admit. You see, when we fret and worry over matters we can’t control, when we meddle and manipulate to get our plans fulfilled, when we come to God after the fact for help, when we pray as a last rather than a first resort, when we cut corners in our financial stewardship because we can’t afford to give to the Lord’s work, and when we put our hope in government (or anything else) at the expense of our trust in God, in effect, we have removed God from his rightful throne.

There is room for only one God in your life, so let God be God. He has a great track record in that role, you know, and you don’t.

And by the way, when you allow God to be God, good things happen for you:

You become the recipient of greater grace. Recognizing God’s rightful role takes true humility (the opposite of pride and haughtiness), as David describes, “My heart is not proud, O LORD,my eyes are not haughty”—Psalm 131:1a. Of course, the Bible repeatedly tells us this is always the catalyst for greater grace. (Proverbs 3:34)
You become the recipient of greater security. You put things that are above your pay grade back into the hands of the only One wise enough to handle them—what David calls “great matters or things too wonderful for me”—Psalm 131:1b (See how Paul describes them in Romans 11:33-36)
You become the recipient of greater confidence. Someone else is running the universe, which means you don’t carry that great weight upon your shoulders. David says, “But I have stilled and quieted my soul”—Psalm 131:2a … which is possible only when you first walk with the Shepherd who leads you beside quite waters and restores your soul.
• You become the recipient of greater contentment. David describes it “like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content”—Psalm 131:2b (MSG) Paul says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” (I Timothy 6:6)
You become the recipient of greater hope. “O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore”—Psalm 131:3. It is by Biblical hope, as Paul teaches, “we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?” (Romans 8:24) “Hope” as Paul says in Romans 5:5, “does not disappoint us…”

Hmmm…grace, security, confidence, contentment, hope. I think I’ll let God be God!

Making Life Work: Have you told the Lord lately that you have no God but him? Maybe you should do it now!

When God Is All You’ve Got

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 16
Focus: Psalm 16:2

“I said to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’ ”

When God is all you’ve got, you’ve got it all!

David’s confession that apart from God he had no good thing was not the admission of a desperate person in dire need pathetically clinging to his God. No, this was a bold and delightful a recognition that in his utter dependence on the Lord, he had, as the Apostle Peter recognized a thousand or so years later, “everything that pertains to life and godliness.” Just what did “everything” mean in David’s mind? The rest of Psalm 16 describes it for us:

Blessing (“LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup.” v. 5)

Favor (“surely I have a delightful inheritance.” v. 6)

Wisdom (“the LORD, who counsels me; at night my heart instructs me.” v. 7)

Security (“because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” v. 8)

Emotional well being (“therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices.” v. 9)

Invincibility (“because you will not abandon me to the grave.” v. 10)

Satisfaction (“you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” v. 11)

If you are in a place that provides all that—God’s blessing, divine favor, spiritual wisdom, personal security, emotional health, supernatural intervention, and soul-soothing satisfaction, what more could you possibly ask for? Anything else you have in life—material abundance, physical health, relational well-being, even fame and fortune—is just icing on the cake.

If you focus on all the things you don’t have in this world, you will live a discontented life. Of course, that is not to say asking God for the things you need, even the things you desire is not appropriate.  It is—that is, if you ask in accordance to his will. But if you find yourself wrestling with chronic discontent, covetousness and lust for temporary stuff, try focusing instead on all the blessings of just belonging to your Heavenly Father.

I am quite certain that if you will do that, you will come to the place where you realize that when God is all you’ve got, you’ve got it all!

__________________

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” (John Piper)

 

Making Life Work: Gratitude is the path for reorienting your discontent to a deeply satisfying life in God.  And best of all, thanksgiving is something anyone can do. So here is the challenge. For the next seven days, morning, noon and night, practice thanksgiving therapy by noticing all the things you have—even the little things—and then praying gratefully. A thankful heart will change your life—and it will reorient it toward the glory of God.

 

 

 

 

Room For Only One God

Read Psalm 131

Featured Verse: Psalm 131:1

“My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.”

There is only One who is God—and that’s not you! Basically, that is what the King David is saying of himself in this brief song of assent. The Message translates verse one this way:

God, I’m not trying to rule the roost, I don’t want to be king of the mountain. I haven’t meddled where I have no business or fantasized grandiose plans.

Yet this business of godship is more prevalent than we care to admit. You see, when we fret and worry over matters we can’t control, when we meddle and manipulate to get our plans fulfilled, when we come to God after the fact for help, when we pray as a last rather than a first resort, when we cut corners in our financial stewardship because we can’t afford to give to the Lord’s work, and when we put our hope in government (or anything else) at the expense of our trust in God, in effect, we have removed God from his rightful throne.

There is room for only one God in your life, so let God be God. He has a great track record in that role, you know, and you don’t.

And by the way, when you allow God to be God, good things happen for you:

  • You become the recipient of greater grace. Recognizing God’s rightful role takes true humility (the opposite of pride and haughtiness—Psalm 131:1), which is always the catalyst for more grace. (Proverbs 3:34)
  • You become the recipient of greater security. You put things that are above your pay grade back into the hands of the only One wise enough to handle them—what David calls “great matters or things too wonderful for me.” (See how Paul describes them in Romans 11:33-36)
  • You become the recipient of greater contentment. David says, “like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content.” (Psalm 131:2, MSG) Paul says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” (I Timothy 6:6)
  • You become the recipient of greater hope. It is by Biblical hope, as Paul teaches, “we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?” (Romans 8:24) “Hope” as Paul says in Romans 5:5, “does not disappoint us…”

Hmmm…grace, security, contentment, hope. I think I’ll let God be God!

“I have one passion. It is He, only He.”
~Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf

Be Careful What You Ask For

Read Psalm 106

Featured Verse: Psalm 106:15

“So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them.”

The psalmist begins, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (Psalm 106:1). So here’s an important question: Do you give only theological assent to that belief, or do you truly believe it in the real world of your everyday life? The acid test that theological belief is congruent with practical belief is the daily manifestation of trust, contentment and gratitude.

Quite often, when the Israelites’ collective belief was put to the test, it failed. In this psalm, the writer details Israel’s sad history of unbelief as God led them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Along the way, God performed some of the mightiest miracles of all time—the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night, manna to eat every single morning for forty years—just to name a few. At every step, God’s miraculous and more-than-enough provision sustained his people.

Yet Israel was still dissatisfied. The people griped, they complained, they lusted for other things—they tested God, and their leader Moses, at every turn in the bend. So God decided to put them to the test as well, to see what was truly in their hearts. And here’s how he tested them: He gave them what they incessantly insisted on!

And when the children of Israel got what they wanted, they lustily, greedily, indulgently consumed it until it made them deathly sick—literally! God gave them what their hearts craved until their hearts caved under the weight of their own foolish desires. The Message translation of this text puts a more spiritual twist to it:

“He gave them exactly what they asked for—but along with it they got an empty heart.”

That should stand forever as a sobering reminder that what we desperately want may not be what we desperately need. They are often two different things, and we would be wise to recognize the difference. When we persistently refuse God’s provision, fail to exercise trust in his abundant care, forget to practice contentment in his goodness, neglect gratitude for his love, and greedily insist on what we want, there comes a point when God will say, “fine, have it your way.”

What a sad and scary thing—that we might actually get what we want!

In all honesty, I hope I never get what I want. I don’t trust my own heart, and the desires it conjures up. What I pray for, however, is to get what God wants me to have—all of it—and along with it, contentment in the good and wise provision of the One who lovingly and continually watches over me.

Trust, contentment and gratitude—that’s the acid test of a faith that is not only theological, but practical!

“All our discontents about what we want appear to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have.”
~Daniel Defoe

When God Is All We’ve Got

Read Psalm 16

Featured Verse: Psalm 16:2

“I said to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.’”

David’s confession that apart from God he had no good thing was not the admission of a desperate person in dire need pathetically clinging to his God. No, this was a bold and delightful recognition that being dependent on the Lord was the supreme place of blessing (“LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup,” v. 5), favor (“surely I have a delightful inheritance,” v. 6), wisdom (“the LORD, who counsels me; at night my heart instructs me,” v. 7), security (“because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken,” v. 8), emotional well being (“therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices,” v. 9), invincibility (“because you will not abandon me to the grave,” v. 10), and satisfaction (“you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” v. 11).

If you are in a place that provides all that—God’s blessing, divine favor, spiritual wisdom, personal security, emotional health, supernatural intervention, and soul-soothing satisfaction, what more could you possibly ask for? Anything else you have in life—financial abundance, physical health, relational well-being—is just icing on the cake.

Sometimes we get a little discontent when we focus on all the things we don’t have. And of course, it is appropriate to ask God for the things we need, even the things we desire—that is, if we ask in accordance to his will. But if you find yourself wrestling with chronic discontent, try focusing on all the blessings of just belonging to your Heavenly Father.

I am quite certain that if you will do that, you will come to the place where you realize that when God is all you’ve got, you’ve got it all!

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”  ~John Piper