Sunday, January 8, 2012

Your Wealth Comes From God

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. -- 1 Timothy 6:17

How much are you worth? How much value do you have? All those who immediately started calculating their financial assets, please raise your hand. Yeah. That’s pretty much what I expected. Most of you raised your hand -- and you’re all wrong.

Your true wealth isn’t calculated by how much money you have in the bank, how much your house is worth or even your income. True wealth comes from Jesus. It is your salvation.

Your Father is the God of all creation. He is the King of kings. You are royalty. You are a prince or princess. You are an heir to eternal life with your Father. That is your worth. That is your value.

How often we lose sight of that. We get so caught up in the roller coaster that is our life that we neglect things that have eternal ramifications. We choose to spend time and effort on things that won’t matter and neglect things that have such great value.

Don’t get me wrong. We need to work and earn a living. We need to support ourselves and our families. We need to eat and sleep. But we also need to spend time each day with our Father. He so wants us to know Him. He wants us to desire time with Him -- not because we need something but because we love Him.

We expend so much time and energy trying to get things. More and more things. We can never seem to have enough things. And just when we get that thing we thought we had to have, we want another thing that’s a little more advanced. Something just released or something that a friend or co-worker just got.

None of it matters. Oh, we might smile about it for a little while. But that fades away and we’re unsatisfied again. We keep trying to fill that empty spot inside of us with things. We want to value ourselves, and those around us, based on their things. Things that really don’t matter. When will we ever learn that the only thing that will fill that emptiness inside is Jesus.

How valuable are you? Look in the mirror. Consider who you are. Think of your family lineage. Remember Jesus. He claimed you as His own. Do you claim Him? Do you value Him as much as He values you?

Your worth comes from who you are in Christ. Your value comes from living your life to bring Him honor and glory. Everything else is just a mirage.

Friday, January 28, 2011

God Fills Us Up Inside

"But godliness with contentment is great gain." -- 1 Timothy 6:6

Do you live an "if only" kind of life? Do you fail to cherrish life today because you are always looking toward tomorrow to be a better day? Do you think you'd be happy and content "if only" something specific would happen? Join the crowd. Lots of people live life just as you do.

We are forever trying to fill that hole inside of us with things. "If only" I had a job with fewer hours and less stress. "If only" I earned more money. "If only" I had a larger house in a better neighborhood. "If only I had a new car. "If only" I could take a real vacation to somewhere fabulous. Yeah, we are filled with "if onlys."

Except none of those "if onlys" would ever make us happy. If we had a larger house, we'd still want something else. If we had a great job, something would still be wrong with it. And on and on. Because we're trying to get happiness and contentment from the outside rather than from the inside and that never works.

Money doesn't buy happiness. Neither does an awesome job, a new car or a great address. God and our relationship with Him are the only things that will ever truly satisfy us. Contentment comes when He fills us with His Holy Spirit. We learn to refocus our lives on God and away from ourselves. We learn what's important and it isn't the stuff that surrounds us.

Do you want to be happy? Do you want to feel peace no matter what happens in your life? Spend time with God. Read His Word daily. Pray without ceasing. And listen for His voice. Let His Spirit fill you with His Presence. You will know true joy when you seek contentment from your Creator and Savior.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Our Worth Comes From God

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."

-- 1 Timothy 6:17

We wrap our identities and self-worth around our possessions. It's like we value ourselves more when we have a nice house at a prestigious address with a new car parked in the driveway. Of course, we need a good job, a fabulous spouse and some great kids to go with the package. It makes us feel satisfied somehow.

Then it all falls apart. A divorce, an illness, a job loss. Maybe it's a house fire, a car wreck or a child in trouble. Our foundation starts to shake. Our self-worth takes a tumble. We try to right ourselves, to get back on the path, except that we can't quite make the pieces fit the way they were.

Who are we if we aren't our possessions? Where do we belong if the family we cherished is no longer the way we imagined? Everything is in shambles. The foundation we believed was secure is gone. It was never secure after all. We are lost and alone, nobody in a world where everybody needs to be somebody.

Our knees hit the ground. There He is waiting, beckoning us forward. He doesn't care about our possessions. He isn't concerned with our jobs or our image of a perfect family. He loves us where we are and for who we are inside. He created us. He is our secure rock on which to build our foundation.

Stuff is great until we place too much importance on things. Possessions will never be and can never be something we can depend on. Same goes for other people. No matter how much we love them and they love us, they will let us down and we will let them down. That's just how it is. God is the only One who will never, ever let us down.

Our self-worth comes only from belonging to God. He's all we will ever need. It's fun to enjoy all the blessings He grants us -- so long as we never let possessions or the people in our lives dictate our worth.