Taking It to Work:
In culture, in school, and even from our parents, we rarely hear warnings for attaining “too much”. The whole idea seems absurd, “How can you have too much?”, and “How could that ever be a problem?” Not a problem until you find yourself weighed down by all of your possessions, and even more weighed down by the fear of losing what you have, or at best, caring and maintaining for all that you have.
When we moved back to Florida, our family rented a home from a Christian couple in their early fifties. The husband was a good man, friendly, pleasant and faithful. We had some really great talks about life and family. His wife though, quite a different story, and it was causing deep issues in his marriage. She grew up with very little, and her goal in life was to have “more”. The husband didn’t really know how many more rental properties his wife wanted, but he just knew it was more than she had.
It was running him ragged, her ragged, and the teenagers they were raising were running amuck. Cleaning, maintaining, furnishing, repairing, buying more, bookkeeping, filling vacancies, interviewing tenants, collecting late payments etc. There was no time left, and I personally have never met woman with a worse disposition.
Jesus warns us that the focus in this life is not to be in the abundance of possessions. Just because we claim Him as Lord, we can’t take this warning lightly. In fact, I think we all have experienced it with every new toy or vacation home, there is a price to pay, and sometimes it is not worth the price we pay….primarily with our time. Solomon said he who loves money, or the things money can buy, will never be satisfied by attaining more.
Times have not changed. Our culture still promises happiness with wealth and possessions; our Lord teaches differently. The endless temptation of “more” can rob us of the real blessings in life…our families, our friends, restful sleep, and most of all, the free time we need to enjoy all that is already around us.
Instead of working more for more, work more to enjoy what you already have, as His Word works in you today.
Luke 12:15 (ESV) – And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Ecclesiastes 5:10 (ESV) – He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
Psalm 37:25 (ESV) – I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.
Listening to the Holy Spirit (Rhema):
My children do not starve. They beg not for bread, for My righteousness covers them. Their provision is Mine. He who continually seeks more will never be filled. Deeper and wider the hole becomes; with each shovelful he removes in his effort to fill. Weary but driven, he strives to fill what cannot be filled. Provision of his own hands leaves both empty, less blisters, dirt and sweat of strife. You are not he. You have taken already my provision, and will continue to receive in peace as you need, content in the care and sufficiency of the Father. Blessing grown as you bless others. Peace of heart, and restful sleep come to those who trust in Me. Worry flees the faithful heart, and greed cannot wake its rest. I Am, and give completely. A faithful heart knows when to rest from its work, and when to labor hard for its master. Do not be slave to the fear of having little; the greater trap is in having much, and the fear of the loss of it.
