As a North American, I am incredibly wealthy and rich, along with many other people. We are incredibly blessed. We have roofs over our heads, running water, heating in the winter, food by the plentiful... and my list could go on.
Lately I have been convicted much as I have been pressing into God more with open hands and an open spirit. What does it mean to truly be a Christian today in our society?
Throughout the Bible it talks about the sheep and the goats (who I think are all "Christians"), how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, how perhaps it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, and so on.
It's easy to think that perhaps the "rich" in those passages doesn't refer to us, because we don't have it all, and there's a bunch of people out there with a whole lot more money than us.
Yet, I have far more than I need and am blessed beyond measure. What does it look like for me to sell all my stuff and go follow Jesus? I am not saying I'm going to go sell everything I own, but I wonder about this from a practical point.
I buy things. I hoard them. I collect them. I don't use them. But I keep them and admire them. A lot of stuff. My life is cluttered with stuff. Unnecessary stuff.
I need to declutter, to simplify, to loosen the hold i have on these things I so desperately try to collect. I'm not sure what form this will be in, but I have a few ideas that have popped into my head about different steps of obedience and surrender I need to take. Of letting go. I don't want these things to become idols.
On the one hand, I do want to bless people though. I desire to pour out blessings on those in my life and be able to share whatever i can with them. And so there are resources for those. Yet I don't want to share out of surplus. I want to sacrifice in sharing with others.
I want to find out more for my own study what the Bible says about wealth and money and such because i know it's a big topic. And it's one I have oft ignored. And I know realize the danger of praying prayers that mean my life will have to drastically change. The anticipation of the change doesn't look completely fun, but I am overjoyed at what will come out of it. So we will wait and see...
6 comments:
A similar train of thought has been running through my mind a lot lately. I've had a couple ideas running through my head about what I can do or sell to help those less fortunate and how I can teach my kids to be unmaterialistic. Thanks for this post and the reminder to put thought to action.
What a wonderful post Vanessa. God will continue to lead you as you follow Him in this, yet another step of obedience. I'm so looking forward to hearing more of what God will do for you. And I'm thrilled to hear of all that you've already experienced with Him.
Growing up during the hippi years, I kept hearing how it was bad to be wealthy. We even had a guest preacher at church one Sunday who said something like, "If you have two inch thick carpets in your home, I hope you trip on them!" As the years went by and I studied God's word, I found out that it is not a sin to be wealthy, but the key is what we do with our wealth. I Timothy 6 addresses this, especially verses 17 to 19. You are on the right track, and I admire you for having such a tender and sincere heart!
Thanks for the challenge!! We all need to be asking daily what do I need and what do I need to give away, let go of, hold loosely......God calls us to be a blessing to others and truly it is more blessed to give than receive!
Good questions...lots of food for thought!
Vanesssa. ..I so understand your thoughts. .we were sitting outside this afternoon talking about the very same thing. .needs and wants. .and how to decide which things we really need.
I cleaned out my pantry this afternoon and was so ashamed to throw out food that had been perfectly good but I hoarded long enough for it to pass the best before date.
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