Set Me Free: Devotions From Time of Grace MinistryPrøve

SET ME FREE FROM MENTAL PRISONS: MATERIALISM Is your life a success? Would you consider yourself a successful person? How do you think other people view you? How do you measure success? What are your life goals? Whose approval do you most crave? Some people measure success in terms of acquiring material things. Gold jewelry, a big boat, and designer clothes proclaim "I made it; I'm somebody." And here's trap #1: If you lose your job or income source, you might feel destroyed as a person. Suddenly you think you're a nobody. Trap #2: If you enthrone money and possessions in your heart, you have set up an idol, a false god that neither loves you nor will help you. "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you'" (Hebrews 13:5). Christians in Egypt in the fourth century began the practice of going out to the desert to live as hermits, cutting off as much contact with the (sinful) world as possible. That option won't work for most of you. But what you can do is decide what you value most in your life. Practice with me and say, "I like my life right now. I don't need to acquire stuff to impress people. My relationships are more important than my stuff. I am somebody! My Savior is my most valuable treasure."