LIVE SECOND- Day 3
week 8: Day 4 Treasure
So many people put money first in their lives. It makes sense, I suppose- considering in modern society you can not do a thing without money. You can't eat without money, you can't keep warm without money or survive. Money is needed for all the basic neccesities- and the non neccesities. No wonder most lives center around the pursuit of money. In fact money and material things have become status symbols in this society. Yet the bible talks about having an unhealthy perspective about money. In fact so many worship money turning it into an idol. So many are addicted to the pursuit of material wealth and treasures. Rather than storing treasures in heaven, so many are content to build worldly treasures- comfort, clothing, cars, homes, jewelry, gadgets and toys- all become statuse symbols and idols. Material possesions are given the worship that only God deserves. God knows about loyalties. We can not serve God and money- we must chose one or the other. And regretably so many choose to serve anything else but God. Yet the bible tells us material possesions and idols will ot last- they will eventually corrode, or be lost. When we put our selfish desires first, then we place God second. Yet when we Live Second, we gain eternal life. We can live life with an eternal perspective.
Diluted, pink, slick, putrified fleshy bits, and cold decayed, ashen mottled skin. Glassy, filmy orbs devoid of life, and dry brittle hair, matted with a thick, deep red sludge- it does not sound like the picture of perfect health. It sounds more like death. As for ourselves, we are walking and talking and breathing. In medically teminology, we have met the criteria for the ABCs; airwaym breathing and circulation. We are confident that we meet the biological, medical and legal criteria of life. But is that enough? We must also consider spiritual life as well.
This describes me- a passage from Ephesions, a new testament book written by Paul, the apostle, "As for you, don't you remember how you used to exist? Corpses, dead in life, buried by transgressions, wandering the course of this perverse world. You were the offspring of the prince of the power of the air- oh, how he owned you, just as he still controls those living in disobediance. I'm not talking about outsiders alone; we were all guilty of falling headlong for the persuasive passions of this world; we all have had our fill of indulging the flesh and mind, obeying impulses to follow perverse thoughts motivated by dark powers. as a result, our natural inclinations led us to be children of wrath, just like the rest of human kind." Ephesians 2: 1-3 (the Voice NT). Everyone has heard of Zombies- the living dead. A body, reanimated, disgusting, grotesque and barbaric- alive yet devoid of the essential part that makes us human. I don't know who hasn't hasn't heard of zombies- they are the subject of many horror movies. At one time in my life I really was no different from the personification of a zombie- the undead- physically alive, technically, yet dead, spiritually- alive in the form of a body, breathing, walking, existing- yet dead in spirit. I had the appearance of physical life, that is true, but I was dead in all that really mattered. Materialism, selfish ambition, self centerdness, self pitty, achievement, career, family devotion, "good works", misplaced dedication... all of these keep us artificially propped up as a prepared corpse in a coffin, a made up runway model or storefront manequein. We might look alive or feel alive but we are dead inside. The outercore is simply a false shell- there is no substance.
This is a world where the well to do justify their wealth and their greedy excess saying that they worked hard and earned it- while many go to bed hungry, dressing in hand-me-downs and rags and all the while go without basic healthcare. The media portrays wealth and selfish ambition as the height of achievement. Television commercials and society place more value on the latest electronic gadget than in human beings. Parents place more priority in providing their children with the latest smartphone or expensive Disney Land trips than in moral values or books. In fact we live in an entitled, distorted society where a child who goes without a smartphone or who has never been on a theme cruise is made to feel deprived. Dysfunctional, broken families and immoral relationships are glorified on TV shows, movies and reality shows, as selfish ambition and self centeredness is portrayed as the norm. Expensive, self centered, self help programs are on the rise. These are the fruits of a life lived without God, where we worship ourselves and treasures and exclude God!
I was once asked by a elderly patient that I was transporting to the hospital -if I had any children. I answered her, "yes". After further questioning I told her that I had a boy and a girl. And she responded..."ahhh.... a rich man's family". I thought about those words, and yes it is true. I am "rich" in all that really matters and is important. I may not be rich by society's standards- as in the fact that I don't have material wealth, a career, special talents, or a mansion, or fancy shoes or an expensive Coach bag. But I do have my faith, and a promise of eternal life- and my two children, and I have my freedom- to practice my beliefs without fear of torture, and I don't have a terminal illness or chronic pain. I also have a place to live, and food to eat and clothes. In reality what more is important? Matthew 6:19-21
Today's society and culture places value on what should be considered junk, and what is truly junk, is deemed valuable. Our treasures here on earth do nothing to keep us alive. They are lies and diversions.
When we put our selfish desires first, material and otherwise- then we place God second. Yet when we Live Second, we gain eternal life. We can live life with an eternal perspective.
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