Two simple statements that should mark the lives of every follower of Christ are “live simply” and “give generously”. In the Western world where we find ourselves the wealthiest people in history, it can be difficult to remember the way in which we have been called to live. One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Proverbs 30:7-9 which says “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.” What an amazing way to live – relying on God for daily provision, finding no pride or identity in our possessions, but rather simply trusting in God to provide.
James
Change Your Life
Imagine how happy you’d be if you could change the circumstances around you to better suit your needs and desires. What would life look like for you if that were possible? Where would you live? How would you spend your days? Envisioning your ideal life is the first step to being able to create it, and you’d probably be surprised to find out that you can indeed have all the things about which you are dreaming. Before you dismiss this out of hand, I encourage you to read on; there really is a simple secret to begin changing your life today, and it’s something that anyone can do!
Life is Short
Most of us, save for the most morbid, don’t sit around thinking of how short life truly is. I submit that there is value in contemplating this very thing. If we maintain our health and are genetically blessed, we have at most 90-100 years on this spinning ball of dirt. In the United States, the average lifespan for a man is 75.6 years, and a woman is 80.8. For all of the advances in Western medicine, that still leaves Americans curiously low at number 36 on the list of lifespan by Country (Wikipedia). In the grand scheme of things, 75-80 years is not a lot of time. Take away from this the fact that our first handful of years is not especially productive, and we wind up with less than 70 years to make a difference in our world.
What is the Measure of Your Success?
How do you define success? Is it the amount of money in your retirement account or perhaps the cash you have at your fingertips? Is it the car you drive or the house in which you live? Maybe you would define success by the job you hold, the company you keep or the possessions you own. The more altruistic might say their success is reflected in their family or friends. As Christians we might shake our head and acknowledge those to be ways the world defines success, but not ways in which we would ever describe it. Yet when I look at my life and that of fellow believers, I cannot help but wonder if we are any different at all; in what ways are we truly setting ourselves apart from those who do not choose to follow Christ?
What Does it Mean to Believe?
You might look at the title of this post and wonder how I could ask such an obvious question. I think we all have a concept of what it means to believe something. The dictionary defines ‘believe’ as “to accept something as true”. So if we accept that Jesus is the Son of God then it could be said that we believe in Him. But the more I study and learn about what the Bible teaches, I think the word “believe” means so much more. In the pages of Scripture, belief is always accompanied by action as if one could not be separated from the other.