The Cost part 4
What I'm going to Rant about tonight can be summed up like this, "It's ok to have stuff. It's not ok for stuff to have you." Jesus spoke many times of selling all you have, or giving all you have, to the poor. Which has kind of given the church world a poverty mentality. Made us think we shouldn't have nice things. Which is kind of ironic when you consider the idea of like millionaire mega church pastors with huge houses and nice cars and expensive clothes and all that. And I'm not judging those people either. What you have and what you do with what you have is between you and God. If the Holy Spirit can't convict you, what chance do I possibly have? Not to mention that it's not my job to convict you. It's my job to love you. To edify you. Support you. Give you what I've got. And here's the thing about giving--it is kind of the opposite of earning (or making someone earn). If I give you something... it can't matter to me what you do with it. Because once I've given it to you it's out of my control. A gift is given simply so that the person you're giving it to can have it. But I said all that to say this: sometimes we get so caught up with what we have (or don't have) that we lose sight of what's REALLY important. People. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. Giving what we've got instead of focusing on what we haven't got. And, realistically, when we give some things away we feel lighter. More free. I don't want to put my mom on blast or anything, but she's a little bit of a hoarder. Except that she doesn't even LIKE hoarding. She always says, "Look at all this junk!" It's heavy. It weighs you down. Travelling light is easier. Less to worry about. What I'm trying to say is, if you have love you have everything you need. And if you have love you're willing to give what you have. So you have everything you need, and nothing that you don't. Psalm 37:16 says, "A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked." I've never put a lot of importance on money. I know you need it. Bills don't stop coming. Life is expensive. I get that. But as long as I've had what I've needed, I think I've been pretty generous in my life. I've always wanted to take care of people. And more than that, I've always wanted to make people happy. I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, I'm just trying to illustrate the difference between chasing the carrot and only ever getting the stick, vs enjoying the gift we've been given by sharing it. I'm trying to illustrate a more excellent way. It is more blessed to give than to receive. No, really, it is. You'll feel it inside. And you'll be less burdened by the sheer weight of everything that tries to drag you down. We are blessed to be a blessing. God made so many of His people rich in the Bible. Having stuff isn't the problem. Stuff having you is the problem. Not being able to give what you've got is the problem. Thinking that you have to keep it to yourself--or hoard it--is the problem. Sharing is caring. Love is giving. If you think the cost is too high, you need to get your priorities checked.