Be Content In Marriage And Money

⁴Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. ⁵Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," ⁶so that we confidently say,
"THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.
WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?"

(Hebrews 13:4-6)

As I read this passage, I noticed that the Lord is asking us to live with a sense of gratefulness and appreciation for what we have. Along with that spirit of thankfulness, we need to also practice delayed gratification as well.

We live in a fast food, instant gratification world. It is such a luxury that we can jump into our cars and purchase anything under the sun whenever we like with only a piece of plastic instead of carrying around cash. If we want to be entertained, our movies are fed straight to our big screen TVs over high definition (or our everywhere internet connected smartphones). It's an awesome thing - luxuries no one could have even imagined just 20-30 years ago.

As great as these things are, that attitude of instant gratification cannot carry into our married life or our finances. Perhaps more than anywhere else in our lives, God needs to reign in us when it comes to those two things.

I am so glad for my wife. We are such different people and that can lead to great complementary aids, or great disagreements. But through everything, she is a loving support for me through tough times. Marriage has also been the toughest test for me in my entire life. The concept of "two becoming one" seems romantic when you're single, but when actually doing the process in real life, it can also be like surgery. For others, there might also be times when it can seem mundane because you see a person everyday. Either way, staying the course in marriage isn't necessarily easy.

It can seem attractive to bail out and to find someone new in order to rekindle excitement or somehow feel validated or "manly". But, we are called to be pure and loyal in our marriages. It is a sanctioned contract under and before God, where we swear to live our whole lives serving our spouses.

The reward for us is the supernatural miracle of two persons truly functioning as one unit. Each supporting the other in different ways and creating a solid foundation and shelter from which to raise the next generation for Christ. There is deep joy in being able to share one's life with another and to lean on them in times of need. We were made to live in marriage (other than those who are called to be single to serve God fully), and when we are able to live out the journey of life through the journey of marriage, we are fulfilled to the depths of our souls.

Money on the other hand is a trap for us. Money's threat is to replace our sense of security in the Lord with the security of a full bank account. In addition, it feeds our greed to obtain and collect things - focusing on material acquisition rather than the fruits of the Spirit.

Making purchases feels empowering. We are drawn to possession and it makes us feel validated. We judge a person's social status and rank by the type of things they have, where they live, the car they drive, and the clothes they wear. God doesn't judge on any of those things. Not a single one.

It is not wrong to be rich. God desires for us to be successful. But, we cannot worship things and compromise ourselves in order to obtain things. We cannot compromise our faith, or our relationship and assignment from the Lord in order to drive a nice car or live in a nice house. Instead, we know that it is God that is our ultimate provider - not our bank accounts. We need to worship the giver and not the gifts.

Be content with what you have, says the Lord. God knows our characters and when we give our lives over to Him, we are submitting to His provision and His timing. He knows us better than ourselves and knows whether we have the characters to live with more or less. Since money is not a factor in God's success, the level of money in our lives has nothing to do with whether or not God believes in us or loves us. He simply has called us to live with a certain amount of funds.

The world is littered with lives that have been destroyed by the love of money. Relationships, one of the greatest treasures that we can have, are severed by jealousy, envy or greed all rooted in the love of money. While it is necessary to live and function, it is meaningless to God's Kingdom.

Lord Jesus, thank You for reminding me about the power and gift of a pure marriage, and warning me about the dangers of the love of money. One is possibly the greatest treasure during our lives here on Earth, and the other is completely worthless in the whole scheme of things. Thank You for being the provider for our family, helping and encouraging us to grow little by little. At the same time, please protect our marriage and help us to grow more and more into the one unit that lives for You alone. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Finding The Real "Us"

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matt 6:33 NKJV)

I believe this verse may be one of the most memorized in the US because of the great Karen Lafferty chorus, "Seek Ye First". I remember that I disliked singing this song in school chapel, but I never knew that it was an actual scripture. At that time, to my great shame, I used to mock Christians and Christianity, but the song had done its work - I memorized that verse!

The truth here is simple, but I really miss the mark in my daily life. The Lord is asking us to put Him first in everything. Seek out His kingdom, His presence, His friendship, and His righteousness. Then, He will order our lives and give us the life that we ultimately desire in the bottom of our hearts.

This life won't be the ones that society tells us represents success. It may not involve riches, a big house, a fancy car, or expensive vacations. Those are the kinds of things that society uses to establish social status and bragging rights. God doesn't care about our pride - in fact, if we seek Him out, He'll break down our layers of pride by shaking up our lives in order to reveal our genuine personality.

Who are we really? We spend so much money as a country in therapy trying to find that out. But, the Lord grants us a deep peace in our hearts because He reveals our true personalities to us. When we stop seeking our own personal gratification and give the Lordship of our lives to Jesus, our focus is taken off ourselves and put onto Him. Then He'll show us the things that we need to change and gives us the ability to change them. And the person that emerges is whole - no longer trying to impress the people around them, but instead living in friendship with God, the way we were created to live.

Lord Jesus, Help me to seek You and Your righteousness first - before striving to seek out accomplishments and things that I believe will make me happy. I want You to arrange and order my life. You've already begun a good work in my soul, and I have been so blessed by it. Please keep eliminating those prideful layers that I know prevent me from living a real life of freedom in You. And thank You for being my Lord, God and friend. In Jesus' name, Amen.