Cafeteria Christianity: Prosperity — Tuesday
Matthew 6:21
”For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (NIV)
When I was growing up, I remember one winter, we had the same meal 3-4 times a week. Fried chicken, fried potatoes and onions, soup beans, and cornbread. My mom was a great cook, and it was delicious—at least, the first few times we had it. After that, it was, “Mom, really? Again?” After a week or so, we no longer had the chicken. Then it was the potatoes. Then the cornbread stopped, and we were left, for the majority of the winter, with only soup beans. My dad was a contract carpenter, and work really slowed down during the winter. It didn’t help that he had some bad habits that made people think twice about hiring him. Those habits also led him to make poor decisions as it related to spending. So my brother and I spent the winter a little hungrier than usual.
That winter changed my relationship with money. I swore my kids would never go without, and would NEVER know hunger. I’ve kept my promise. My kids don’t know what it’s like to go hungry. They have always had everything they needed, and most everything they wanted. My kids have all gone to different schools that foster their individual needs. And my wife and I have sacrificed to make all of this happen. I am not what most Americans would call “prosperous,” but I have always been blessed with everything I’ve needed to take care of the ones I love. But here’s the problem: When things have gotten tight, I’ve held on tighter. God will say, “Let me take this from you,” and I’ll respond, “No—if I turn loose, then I may not be able to take care of them the way I promised.” Money is something that I’ve needed to control to make me feel good enough for my family.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s devotional, God has already declared me “good enough” and “His child.” If I’m His child, and He’s a Good Father, what do I have to worry about? Won’t He take care of me? He owns “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). So my problems with money are not a problem for Him, and neither are yours.
Tuesday’s Reflection
Is money or wealth controlling your life? Ask God to help you release it over to His control. He can do more with it than you can anyway.