1 John 2:15-17
Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t
love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the
Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your
own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear
important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from
him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way
out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
I once worked with a woman
whose cousin was killed in a car accident. When she went to visit the
family, the widow was sitting on a couch with her head in her hands.
She tearfully told this woman, “He was going to buy me a fur coat!” I
cannot express how this made the cousin feel. But before you cluck your
tongue and declare this widow to be so horrible, consider that each of
us has a “fur coat moment”…probably more often than we realize.
The problem is, we make things all about us…what we want…what we think we need…whether or not we
feel validated and important. And in the process, we totally leave God
out of the equation. There is a saying that no one ever said on
his/her death bed, “I wish I had spent more time in the office.” We
could add to this…”No one ever said on his/her death bed, ‘I wish I had
one more car, piece of jewelry, electronic gadget, or trophy.’”
Too
often, we are so busy loving the world and its goods that we truly do
squeeze out love for God. And even those with what seem to be the best
of intentions may be doing this in ways that are not readily recognized.
We all pretty well “get it” about selfish desires for possessions,
positions and personal desires. But things like signing up to serve on
every committee and attend every group or mission that your church
sponsors may not include God, either.
How can this be?
Clearly, God has a plan for each of us…things that He wants us to do to
honor and glorify Him. Just because you are “all in” with church or
civic activities…or you are running here and there doing things for your
family doesn’t mean that God commissioned you to participate in all of
these activities. Whether we realize it or not, too many people are
overly-involved so that others will say, “I don’t know how he/she does
it all!” And this isolates us from God.
So the challenge for
each of us today is to sit quietly and evaluate who we are, what we are
doing, and where we are headed. Are we listening for God’s voice? Is
He guiding our steps and showing us how and where to serve? Are we
carefully considering how God feels about every aspect of our lives…from
our possessions to how we spend our time, talents and money to those
who are in our circle of friends and associates? Are we seeking HIS
approval – or the world’s? And are we ready to change any and all of
this to put Him front and center in our lives?
Are we living in
the world of “fur coats”, mortal accolades and appreciation, and the
immediate future…or are we focused on Eternity and how we will account
for ourselves when we get to Heaven? Who DO we love…the world – or
God? It’s time we figured this out, once and for all.
©2015 Debbie Robus
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