Heart//
When we care a whole lot about things that we can touch, it often impacts the things we can’t touch.
“Stuff” is not bad.
The scripture of the day is clear that loving our stuff is bad.
“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”
1 John 2:15-17 NLT
Author and church planter Jeff Christopherson puts it well in saying, “Jesus is against whatever we will not leave behind to follow Him.”
How many things do we see around us every day that are screaming, “Buy me! This would make you happy! This would make your life better!”
Hearing those messages over and over makes it hard not to begin to believe them! But if our possessions are satisfying us and making us feel “comfortable enough,” they can become dangerous to us. When our strong desire for feeling secure or happy drives us to acquire more and more belongings, we are at risk of falling into a trap… “I need to be happy, so I need more stuff…” And that cycle never ends.
God has called us to deny our “self” (Luke 9:23), in other words, to be willing to let go of that strong desire to focus our time, energy, and money on accumulating possessions.
This week we are going to practice letting go of some things that make us feel “comfortable.”
By letting go of our tight grip on our own conveniences, we can empathize with those around the world who don’t have an option of “”comfort.” And who knows, letting go of your grip on some things in your life may just make you more available to hold on tight to God instead!
Work //
To empathize means to put yourself in a position where you’ll have a better understanding of how someone else feels. You feel with them. To empathize with those around the world in need, take cold showers for the next few days and pick several nights this week to sleep on the floor instead of your bed.As you do this, think about those around the world that have never had the opportunity to take a warm shower or sleep in a bed. Pray that God would help you empathize and begin asking Him for ideas to help those in need.
