I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-46)

I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT?

USING GOD’S BLESSINGS
The way we spend our time on earth and how we use the resources
God has provided, is a good reflection of where our heart is focused.
It can also be a determining factor regarding our eternal destiny.
    You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence.
    You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.
    (James 5:5)

When James uses the term ‘luxury’, he is describing someone
who has much more than they need. For instance, a person
may only have two drivers in the house, but owns four cars.
The money spent on luxuries could have been used in service
to the Lord.

He also used the term ‘self-indulgence’ which implies self-centeredness
and selfishness with disregard to others in need. In essence, James is
saying that the person has lived a life of selfishness and extravagance.
They have an unhealthy desire to gain more wealth.

More than likely this desire doesn’t include any desire to spend time
with the Lord. This is not the type of lifestyle that is indicative of a
person with the type of humility the Lord enjoys seeing in His children.

Lastly, James compares these types of folks to animals. How?
Animals are fed well and they overindulge, not realizing that
the more they eat, the closer they are getting to the slaughterhouse.

People however, should know better, yet many continue focusing
on gaining more and more, not realizing that they could be speeding
toward their own destruction. Their focus on living the luxurious life,
reduces the time they have for repenting of their sins and accepting
God’s free gift of salvation. As a result, they eventually step into
eternity (which could be considered as man’s slaughterhouse)
separated from the Lord….forever.

When people have an obsession for wealth, they can do all kinds of
evil, which can often result in hurting the innocent. As an example
of this type of mentality, I know a man who was hired as a sales
manager for a company that was making $1.3 million a year. His
diligent hard work increased the company’s annual income to
$13.2 million.

But, instead of rewarding him for his hard work, they laid him
off, along with two other contributing salesmen. Why? Because
they did not want to continue paying his higher salary and
associated bonuses.

That is the kind of unfair treatment that occurs whenever selfish
‘decision makers’ want to increase their own bonuses and salaries.
They eliminate those they consider to be overpaid individuals, even
though they were the ones who were instrumental in increasing the
bottom line for the company, which in turn, increased the salaries
of those ‘at the top’.

This is a good example of the adage, “No good deed will go unpunished”.
The salesman was conscientious and worked hard for the company but
received a layoff notice as the reward for his good efforts.

There are some questions we can ask
ourselves to see how materialistic we are:
    – What are my basic objectives in life?
    – To what do I devote most of my time, energy, and money?
    – To what degree do I think of my possessions
      as “mine to do with as I please”?
    – When I think of the shortness
      and uncertainty of life, how do I respond?
    – What possessions do I have that cause
      more trouble and worry than they are worth?
    – Do I weigh myself down
      by wanting more than I need, or can afford?
    – Do I waste valuable time and energy
      on things that don’t really matter?
    – Are my desires for “bigger”, “better”, and “more”, greater than
      my desires for affection, communication, and concern for others?
    – Do I feel good about my work, the people in my life, and myself?
    – If I had only 3 months to live,
      what would I let go of, and what would I hold on to?
    – Do I have sizeable debts because I let my wants exceed my needs?
    – Do I always have to have the best (which often requires getting a loan),
      when I could settle for good without going into debt?

There are some actions that may help us to overcome materialism:
    – Be sure our salvation is genuine.
    – Pray about how we earn our money and how we spend it.
    – Accept the fact that everything we have belongs to God
      and should be used according to His will, and not to feed
      our own ego.
    – If we aren’t tithing, start;
      if we are tithing on the net, try tithing on the gross.
    – Learn to get by on less for ourselves, so we can
      have more to share with others…then share with others.
    – Use some money we would normally spend
      on ourselves to get something for someone else.

Consider the following verse.
    Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
    He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people
    falsely – be content with your pay.” (Luke 3:14)

Years ago, most of the clothes people owned were probably
handmade. It was the same with their furniture and most of
the things they had. Then came the golden age of manufacturing.

No longer did families have to make everything they owned. If they
had money, they could now buy the things available. The increase
in goods available made living easier, but it also created an increased
desire to have new things.

Just to make sure they could capitalize on the new human desires,
the stores created catalogs to show people what they could be missing.
People were made more aware of how much more there was to have.
The catalog aroused the desires for material goods. That desire has
grown in epic proportions and dominates the lives of many in today’s
world.

Manufacturing and marketing can entice people to want things,
but they are not the source of materialism. The source of desires
for more originates in the sinful human heart.

What did John the Baptist say to the soldiers who asked him,
    “And what should we do?”
He replied,
    “Don’t extort money…be content with your pay”.

John knew that some soldiers were using their position for personal
gain. He knew that the problem was located in their hearts. He also
knew the cure for their problem was contentment with what God
provided for them.

They, like many today, had a major struggle finding contentment.
We tend to take for granted all of the blessings the Lord has given
us. Rather than being happy and contented with what we have, we
allow Satan to convince us that we need (and deserve) more. Why do
we have the desire for more? It could be any number of reasons
including,
    – Feeding our ego and/or pride.
    – Thinking that others will like us more.
    – Belief that “things” will improve our self-esteem.

The problem with this desire is, we fail to be
thankful for what the Lord has already blessed us with.

We should be careful with how we feed our heart. If we feed it
with materialism, then we will become more discontented. Paul
gives us some good advice.
    “Godliness with contentment is great gain”
      (1 Timothy 6:6)

Paul tells us that if we want to find contentment, then we need
to feed our heart with godliness. This means we are presented
with a ‘fork in our decision road’:
        We can feed on materialism, which causes us to be ungrateful
        for what we have and causes us to be consumed with the desire
        for more “things” (which creates a blockade for our real desire
        for contentment).
    Or,
        We can feed on godliness which takes us down the path to contentment.

The first choice is evident in the lives of many as they continually
get so many ‘things’ that they run out of room for storing them.
This means they have to buy storage buildings, have a garage sale,
or buy new house with more room to store their possessions.

They end up in a rut of discontentment as they keep trying to find
what they do not have. They strive to get enough money to buy more
things. Then they run out of room and look for solutions for storing
their ‘things’, or find a way to sell them in order to have money to get
more ‘things’.

Sounds like a vicious circle, doesn’t it?

In contrast, those who strive for godliness, find contentment in the
Lord’s blessings, and they have much more time to spend on the
important things that lead to a happy life (like friendships with
others (and family), love for others, fellowship with God, bible
study, etc.).

Be honest and assess yourself and your own desires. Are you in
the materialism rut, or do you find contentment without the need
to acquire new things? If you are chasing materialism, then honestly
admit that godliness is not a high priority for you. What changes do
you need to make in order to develop godliness and contentment?
Isn’t that what you (and others) really want?

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