This morning I didn't feel lead to read from any particular section of scripture, so just decided to read from Luke, as I love thinking about Jesus and His words. Here are the verses I am thinking about this morning - Luke 12:15, 29-34 NIV:
[15] "Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
[29] "And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. [30] For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. [31] But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."
[32] “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. [33] Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. [34] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
I have been thinking for a while about down-sizing our home and life-style and this morning these verses were encouraging to me that this is a worthy pursuit. I love Jesus' words - "life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." Nothing could be truer, yet we pursue possessions.
It is an interesting thing, our desire for possessions. I think in some ways it is idolatrous, for we long for, and desire and think about our possessions so much. An abundance of possessions leads to an abundance of cares, and concerns. We make decisions about our life, based on our possessions. We desire things we can't afford, and thus we go into debt, just to have those things. We essentially enslave ourselves to earning payment for these things.
It seems to me that the Lord invites us into a different pursuit, that being the Kingdom of God. He says to seek first the Kingdom. The perspective here is that this is our first and foremost concern. He will provide that which we need, in other words we don't need to seek after those other things.
The second thing to note is that Jesus is guiding us toward an eternal mindset. We are so concerned with the here and now, and He says we should rather be concerned with eternity and heaven. He says that where our treasure is, there also will be our heart. So if we treasure our things more than other people, our hearts will be on our things. If our treasure is here on earth consisting of our possession, our heart will never consider eternity and heaven.
There is much good to be found in some of the simplify your life, minimalism, small house, and other social trends and ideas. This new move away from commercialism is definitely a positive movement, but it must be coupled with seeking the Kingdom as well. Relationship with the Lord should be our first concern, and then our brothers and sisters and our neighbors. The Kingdom consists of relationships, not things. Life is found in the Holy Spirit (John 6:63), the fountain of living water placed in each of us (John 7:38). As I think about this, our only way to encounter this fountain of living water, the Holy Spirit in each of us, is through relationships.
I am encouraged to really consider my life, my possessions and what is really important.
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