Man, this week has been such a week of conviction for me. My attitude towards my husband pretty much stinks most of the time. It's crazy how selfish we can be when left to ourselves! I realized that I have been so concerned about getting the rest I "needed" that I've been saving my energies and not serving him. This weekend, I listened to a lot of sermons via my iphone while painting our new office and God's Spirit was really with me, speaking to me and opening my heart. I saw that I was not even loving my children or my husband as myself, I was only loving only myself and trying to serve in ways that preserved my desires and energies. Anyway, that is just one of the many things that has been on my heart.
We've been reading in Luke, and when I say we, I mean our small bible study group that gets together every other Sunday night. It's not church affiliated, just a group of us who earnestly want to see Christians in action and to know God and see Him work through us. Recently, we were talking with some people about the whole retirement concept and what it means when we save our money for the future. In Luke 12:16-21, here's what Jesus says,
And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
The conversation we had with another fellow believer was thought-provoking. He was trying to draw the line between being this fool and providing for His family. He was asking earnestly "Is it 'providing for my family' by saving for my wife's well-being in the future if she needs it, or is it sinning - not helping others who can use the money now?" Definitely a question that needs to be asked. Our American standard for living is so insane! I don't even know where we got this concept from!! Not to say this isn't a valid question. There is also the idea that if you're leaving it for others behind you, then it's not a waste. We really need to examine all these ideas before we start automatically sinking into our culture's practices.
It's tough in our culture though. We do not care for elderly parents as others do, the church does not make sure widows' bills are paid and we do not take in children whose parents are slacking or need help. So, we decided to just start taking care of ourselves. Then, since people were all taking care of themselves, we no longer offer to help because we need to take care of ourselves. Really? Who takes care of us? Is it really foolish to say "I will take care of others first, fully resting on God's ability to take care of me." This is not a popular stand in church today sadly. We try to determine what is okay instead of having our ultimate goal be "being rich towards God."
Issues like this can show us where we put our faith. I really think it's important to ask ourselves why we have these standards of living and retirement. We should be asking ourselves every day "What am I doing all this for?" Personal ambition, self-sufficiency, lack of faith in God's provision and most importantly, lack of belief in what God will reward me for in eternity? Seriously, isn't that it? Doesn't it boil down to not believing that serving everyone except myself with all of my possessions, all of my energy while fully relying on His Spirit and His ability to meet my needs? For me, it really does. I have my own agenda, my own ambitions and my own ideas of what will fulfill me and how to take care of me. But I can guarantee, when I chase after all that, I am chasing something completely unreal, something that perishes before the world even will. Let's ask ourselves this everyday - "Do I truly desire to gain my rewards in Heaven or on earth?" If the answer is Heaven, then there has to be a change.
We've been reading in Luke, and when I say we, I mean our small bible study group that gets together every other Sunday night. It's not church affiliated, just a group of us who earnestly want to see Christians in action and to know God and see Him work through us. Recently, we were talking with some people about the whole retirement concept and what it means when we save our money for the future. In Luke 12:16-21, here's what Jesus says,
And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
The conversation we had with another fellow believer was thought-provoking. He was trying to draw the line between being this fool and providing for His family. He was asking earnestly "Is it 'providing for my family' by saving for my wife's well-being in the future if she needs it, or is it sinning - not helping others who can use the money now?" Definitely a question that needs to be asked. Our American standard for living is so insane! I don't even know where we got this concept from!! Not to say this isn't a valid question. There is also the idea that if you're leaving it for others behind you, then it's not a waste. We really need to examine all these ideas before we start automatically sinking into our culture's practices.
It's tough in our culture though. We do not care for elderly parents as others do, the church does not make sure widows' bills are paid and we do not take in children whose parents are slacking or need help. So, we decided to just start taking care of ourselves. Then, since people were all taking care of themselves, we no longer offer to help because we need to take care of ourselves. Really? Who takes care of us? Is it really foolish to say "I will take care of others first, fully resting on God's ability to take care of me." This is not a popular stand in church today sadly. We try to determine what is okay instead of having our ultimate goal be "being rich towards God."
Issues like this can show us where we put our faith. I really think it's important to ask ourselves why we have these standards of living and retirement. We should be asking ourselves every day "What am I doing all this for?" Personal ambition, self-sufficiency, lack of faith in God's provision and most importantly, lack of belief in what God will reward me for in eternity? Seriously, isn't that it? Doesn't it boil down to not believing that serving everyone except myself with all of my possessions, all of my energy while fully relying on His Spirit and His ability to meet my needs? For me, it really does. I have my own agenda, my own ambitions and my own ideas of what will fulfill me and how to take care of me. But I can guarantee, when I chase after all that, I am chasing something completely unreal, something that perishes before the world even will. Let's ask ourselves this everyday - "Do I truly desire to gain my rewards in Heaven or on earth?" If the answer is Heaven, then there has to be a change.
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