In all my years, I have never gone a day without food unless it was by choice. I have seen lean days and days of plenty, but not once have I wondered if I would have something to eat. There are still areas of our world where this is not the case. Throughout history, this has not been the norm. Food security has always been an issue, but it has never been an issue for me, and I doubt it has been for most of those reading this.
My point is, when all else is going against us, we have so much for which to be thankful. Never let your present circumstances blind you from the realities of the abundant blessings you receive every day (Psalm 103:2). Contrary to how we might think or feel, every day we are getting more than we ever deserve (Romans 6:23; Lamentations 3:22-23).
If you’re an American like myself, at some point in your life you’ve no doubt aspired to be wealthy. It’s almost built into the DNA of our country. But wealth is a funny thing, more of a moving target than a concrete destination. The truth is almost everyone living in America, regardless of your social status, is wealthy by the world’s standards (see “Golden Handcuffs“). We are beyond wealthy by historical standards. The insatiable desire we have for getting more is nothing but a ploy of Satan. It is a sin (1 Timothy 6:10; Luke 12:15; Exodus 20:17).
Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, and when he had the opportunity to ask God for wealth, he asked for wisdom instead (1 Kings 3:5-13). Agur was another wise man and contemporary of Solomon. In the book of Proverbs, he wrote, “Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need. Otherwise, I might have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:8-9). The wisest men in history weren’t concerned with getting more. They only wanted God and asked Him only to provide for their basic needs.
Paul wrote he had learned to be content in every circumstance (Philippians 4:11-13). Can we say the same? Every life is full of ups and downs, with most of us having memories of “the good old days”. We spend too much time trying to either outdo or return to our past. Everything we do that does not have God as our motivation is a sin (Colossians 3:17). Nothing is worthy of our devotion other than Jesus Christ and when we fix our gaze on anything other than Him, we are living outside of His will (Hebrews 12:1-2; Matthew 6:24).
The goal in life should never be about getting more unless what we want more of is God. Everything we achieve or acquire that is of this world is worthless and disgusting (Philippians 3:7-9; Ecclesiastes 1:2). Why would we want to be building a bigger pile of that every day? There is nothing in this world worth pursuing (1 John 2:15-17). Only Jesus is worth your life, so stop wasting so much time on everything else and spending so little time seeking His face (Jeremiah 29:13; Matthew 6:33).
We’re living life backwards, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to back my way into eternity. Every day we don’t give to God is a day wasted. There are no refunds on time (Ephesians 5:15-16). We must all repent of our pursuit of getting more in this world, and spend the rest of our days seeking more of the righteousness and holiness of God (Matthew 5:6; 1 Peter 1:15-16).