Having just read a blog, I began to ponder....
What IS the balance between being IN the world and being OF the world? Afterall, we are IN this world, right? But we are directed to not be OF this world. A simple balancing act, right? Not so much. I truly believe we can be OF this world with precious little of value monetarily. I also believe we can be IN this world with very much of monetary value. See, God chooses to bless us. That is NOT to say that those who have less are less blessed, heavens NO! Nor am I saying that those who have more are blessed more. What we have financially is NOT AT ALL a marker of our blessings. However, I have seen the scale tip on both sides. Those with practically nothing filled with greed for SOMETHING....hence a wrong heart. I have also seen those with so much money who give and give and give more until they, at times, are stretched themselves....no greed. I have also seen everything in between. The balance is in the heart.
God blessed us with what He has. For some, he blesses the hard work, provides good jobs and blesses good stewardship. And sometimes those people choose to spend wisely, purchasing once but for all...hence spending more perhaps. I have also seen those with precious little spend once, for all, also living in beauty. I do not believe spending money on "things" is bad, per se, but I do believe that if spending is our goal, we are wrongly motivated and NOT being good stewards of what the Lord has given us. I have recently moved from a 14 room house to a 8 room house....significantly downsizing. We took all the extra furniture and items and donated them to our church. Not looking for blessings here, I am just saying that we tried to be good stewards with what the Lord had blessed us with. We did not buy anything new until last month when we purchased a kitchen table, as my mom needed one. Other than that, we are status quo...In fact, I have reduced our "stuff" significantly. I have less "stuff" now than ever before. Not for any other reason than I believed the Lord was asking me to "scale down"...so I did. I will continue to get rid of any and all things that He asks of me....afterall, it IS His, right!?!
I believe that, no matter how much time we spend "shopping", as long as we remain anchored in Christ, recognizing that even our time is His, He is glorified and satisfied with us. It is when we speed through our day, leaving God in our reclining chair each morning, He is not glorified at all, nor is He satisfied...
So, is it what we do with our money? I don't think that is all of it, though it is certainly a part of it. He gave us things to enjoy. Even His money....not to waste but to enjoy. He gives us time, not to waste, but to enjoy. He gives us each other, not to waste, but to enjoy. He gives us places to go, not to waste, but to enjoy.
So, there it is....MHO (my humble opinion). Humility...something I just read about today...if we focus on humility, it is actually prideful....self focused...however, "the quiet song of gratitude, eucharisteo, lures humility out of the shadows because to receive a gift the knees must bend humble and the hand must lie vulnerable open and the will must bow to accept whatever the Giver chooses to give". (Ann Voskamp) In the end, it is all His, all FOR Christ, all IN Christ....In Christ, all things are held together. So you see, it is truly a matter of the heart.
Until next time....
