Central Assembly

Proverbs 30:8b-9
…give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

How to live in abundance

> Receive it gratefully

> Use it to make a difference

How to live in spite of abundance:

> Fight hard to stay spiritually alive and obedient to the Lord

* God's law . . .

* Solomon's compromises

C. S. Lewis Institute, “Blessings Temporal and Spiritual” “Inattention to God and his grace is a perennial danger to those of us in America who live with an abundance of material resources and enjoy the ease, comfort, and pleasures they afford. However, preoccupation with these blessings can easily distract us from God and lead to a cooling of our love for him and for our neighbor… In the end, we allow God’s blessings to displace God himself in our hearts.”

How to live in spite of abundance:

> Avoid confusing life's "things" with life's "meaning"

* The education thing

How to live in spite of abundance:

> Avoid confusing life's "things" with life's "meaning"

* The education thing

* The party thing

How to live in spite of abundance:

> Avoid confusing life's "things" with life's "meaning"

* The education thing

* The party thing

* The consumer thing

Ecclesiastes 2:17a
So I hated life . . .