I love the singing group Selah and I got hooked on Todd Smith's wife's blog...AMAZING story, especially for people that have lost a child...anyway, she had a great quote on one of her posts this summer:
"It isn't that God doesn't want us to have nice things, He just doesn't want us to hold them too tightly."
And I agree. I had even been thinking to myself, "well, got that one down, God" and patted myself on the back. I was even planning to do a post on this.
But recently God has been challenging me to take it a step further...(He definitely has a way of humbling me)
It was like He began to whisper..."maybe it is not that you are holding too tightly, but that you have too much."
And I began to argue.
"God, I don't even like to spend money. I hate shopping. I don't like to hoard things, and I like to live simply. I feel like I am a content person! In fact, I normally get more on edge when we have things in our house that need to be thrown out or given away. How can I be materialistic???"
But He was persistent. And I finally stopped and listened.
This was kind of eye opening to me. He began to show me that the more I have, the more I have to maintain...
More toys to pick up, more space to clean, more dishes to wash, more clothes to keep hung up or put away, too many things to choose from (if I only had 3 shirts, I bet I wouldn't spend 5 minutes trying to decide what I should wear to work ;) ), more vehicles to maintain, and the list could go on.
Anyway, I DEFINITELY don't think God is asking me to get rid of everything I enjoy or have, but I do think He is asking me to re-evaluate.
And I thought I was done. Great! Check that one off my list! No longer materialistic...
But God wasn't done...
He began to ask me tougher questions...am I holding on to things that money can't buy: Stephen, the kids, my future...? Would I still be faithful if they were taken away from me? Would I still praise God in the midst of devastation? Do I really trust Him, or am I too self-sufficient and independent?
OK, God...I am still materialistic. I get it.
Yep, still working on that humility...
"It isn't that God doesn't want us to have nice things, He just doesn't want us to hold them too tightly."
And I agree. I had even been thinking to myself, "well, got that one down, God" and patted myself on the back. I was even planning to do a post on this.
But recently God has been challenging me to take it a step further...(He definitely has a way of humbling me)
It was like He began to whisper..."maybe it is not that you are holding too tightly, but that you have too much."
And I began to argue.
"God, I don't even like to spend money. I hate shopping. I don't like to hoard things, and I like to live simply. I feel like I am a content person! In fact, I normally get more on edge when we have things in our house that need to be thrown out or given away. How can I be materialistic???"
But He was persistent. And I finally stopped and listened.
This was kind of eye opening to me. He began to show me that the more I have, the more I have to maintain...
More toys to pick up, more space to clean, more dishes to wash, more clothes to keep hung up or put away, too many things to choose from (if I only had 3 shirts, I bet I wouldn't spend 5 minutes trying to decide what I should wear to work ;) ), more vehicles to maintain, and the list could go on.
Anyway, I DEFINITELY don't think God is asking me to get rid of everything I enjoy or have, but I do think He is asking me to re-evaluate.
And I thought I was done. Great! Check that one off my list! No longer materialistic...
But God wasn't done...
He began to ask me tougher questions...am I holding on to things that money can't buy: Stephen, the kids, my future...? Would I still be faithful if they were taken away from me? Would I still praise God in the midst of devastation? Do I really trust Him, or am I too self-sufficient and independent?
OK, God...I am still materialistic. I get it.
Yep, still working on that humility...
7 comments:
Wow. That was a great thinking post. I think for me, it's also an issue of time stewardship. Am I spending more time with things than with people, especially my family. My Stephen and I, since we both have laptops, are looking at setting some kind of limit on our computer time because we both love to surf the net and could do so to the exclusion of each other. Let me know if you have any ideas. :)
Amen to that! I think humility is something that we all will have to constantly keep in check for our whole lives. I have a couple of stories from college where I had things stolen or destroyed by mice, and had that all important 'materialism getting out of control?' check. It sounds like you've got everything under control and are doing better and better which is what counts!
Great thoughts Michelle, you could do a bible study on that...good stuff!
I guess by the definition I am very materialistic then... but I will try to hold on to what is most precious rather than "dead" things.
I love the new background! It was easy, right? :)
I read Angie Smith's blog too. It's amazing! And I absolutely remember the post you reference and I remember thinking/praying a lot about what she talked about. And now, I will continue to again because you just gave me such a great reminder. Excellent post Michelle! Thanks for being so open and honest.
Thanks for posting about Angie's blog site. I went back and read the story from the beginning and was touched. It really hit me how she was talking about praying for our children. I had just been to a moms group where she was talking about prayer and I realized I spend a lot of time carrying for my childrens physical needs but not enough on their spiritual needs.
Post a Comment