[1 John Series 8] The Pull Of Materialism And PrideSample

Love God More

While living in this world we will need food, shelter, clothing, education, and means of communication and transportation. Sure, it is great to have nice things, but we don’t want that to steal our hearts. When we get caught up in things, our whole life switches into upkeep mode; we forget about doing what God wants. We know what we would have to do if we were going to keep this place and this lifestyle. So, we have to be careful that the Lord comes first and that we love Him with all of our heart.

Some of us have become expert identifiers. We know which people have spent too much and gone too far, and then we try to say what we would have done instead, “If I had that much money, I would drive... I would live... I would eat... I would wear...” Do you know what the Bible says about that? Remove the plank from your own eye before you remove the speck from somebody else’s eye. 

We know the “why” behind all the things we have and how we have arranged our life. We can explain why we purchased these things, and why we think our heart was right when we did so. But in other people’s lives, we do not understand the “why.” We only see the “what.” So, we become judgmental. It is a slippery slope. When we do this, unknowingly we are trying to deflect the attention from our own hearts. This should be a warning sign to us. Whenever we catch ourselves acting as “expert identifiers,” we should realize that an inner inspection is due. 

James tells us that whoever wants to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy. Our goal is to love God more than the world. God can bless you. God can give you nice stuff. You can have a nice house and a nice car. You can have nice clothes. But don’t let those things to ever capture your heart and get in the way of following God’s will. Because later it will be harder to leave them; it will feel really uncomfortable to leave them behind and follow God instead.

All of us hard workers, as we are going, moving, and shaking we start doing better. Sometimes we get paid more, have more disposable income, and can buy more comfortable, nicer things. All of that is awesome, but don’t let it capture your heart. Don’t be a friend of the world.