Friday, June 7, 2013

Simplicity

We have such a difficulty as men with this simplicity of seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness above all else. It is among our greatest issues in my view. Many of us seek to have our cake and eat it too. “I want to be rich, but not to be fixated on my riches. I want to be both successful in the world’s eyes and in the Lord’s. I want to be an example of a rich successful person who doesn’t put his riches before God. I am the exception. I won’t struggle with finding satisfaction in my wealth like most men would. I deserve to have both God’s simplicity and earthly wealth.” How unbiblical this is! Yet most of us feel this way at our core! I feel this way! Why are we unwilling to trust in God’s word? Why must I be the exception? We love to picture those wealthy men in our lives who embody God’s gift of simplicity and generosity in their lives, yet who among us looks at the man with no great wealth who lives simply before God and men and says, “I want that!” We often desire to be in the circumstances where temptation to take our eyes of the Lord are greatest and walk the “healthy line” in that circumstance, yet who among us seek only God’s kingdom and his peace without a care of personal affluence? We want to be with the hottest girl in the world, yet not place too much value in appearance. We want wealth without greed or a hoarding mentality. We want to be looked up to by both the world and in God’s kingdom. Yet, often these things are not congruent, yet we choose the world’s common sense above God’s word.

Written: December 18, 2010

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