Chances
are that if I were to tell you that we live in a materialistic world,
as a true Christian, you would know what I'm talking about. Further,
chances are that because you love Christ also, you're just as alarmed
by it as I am. So the question becomes: what do we do about it?
In
just one example of the spirit of the world that we live in, we note
that as we come upon the season that we celebrate as Christmas, we
find that from year to year it's driven with increasing intensity by
commercial enterprise. In other words: m-o-n-e-y.
The
"trappings" of Christmas appear earlier and earlier every
year on store shelves and in media presentations designed to get us
thinking about separating ourselves from the money they desire. The
motivations for the parting that are given are both what we should
buy and what we should expect to get. The commercial invitations to
spend appear a little earlier and in greater urgency every year. They
urge us to save money by rushing like cattle to present ourselves on
the materialistic alter of black Friday to satisfy an appetite for
"things". I don't stand questioning the individual motives
of those who respond, I simply stand in disgust of the source that's
promoting it.
The
spirit that pervades much of the world does everything it can to
marginalize, disgrace and discredit anything we would set aside to
honor our God. For example: on a day that we as Christians take
occasion to set aside to offer accentuated thanks for what we have by
the Lord's provision, thankfulness for what we have is being replaced
by the world with a greater call to get more. Black Friday has
now finally become "brown Thursday" and the thankfulness of
Thanksgiving is being run over ruthlessly by a truck load of goodies
driven by money who's in the drivers seat merrily shouting "Happy
Holidays!". Thankfulness as a consequence is left wearing tire
tracks by the roadside to die without mercy. Where does this come
from? I believe that we know ...
I
want to pose a question. Not because I know this to be a fact, but I
pose it merely to provoke thought about where our hearts really are -
to be sure. We know because we study the Word of our Lord carefully,
of the foretold mark of the beast. So what it would mean if it were
in fact true that the mark of the beast was nothing more mysterious
than the love of money and what it could bring?
The
love of money of course is driven primarily by the desire for what
money can bring. By itself money has no nutritional value and it
doesn't bring much comfort or pleasure in currency form. It's what
money can bring us in the end that we look for. In the world today
it's become a necessary form of commerce and (like will be true of
the mark) we can't really buy much without it ...
Thankfully,
as followers after the heart of Christ, we're careful and thoughtful
with regard to money and materialistic things because we remember
these among other words of our Lord:
Luke
16:13 "No
one can serve two
masters. For you will
hate one and love
the other, or be devoted to one and
despise
the other. You
cannot
serve
both
God
and
money."
(NLT)
Matthew
6:19-21, 19 "Don't
store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths
and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your
treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty
and where they will be safe from thieves. 21 Wherever your treasure
is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.
(NLT)
Because
we're spiritually aware, we also know that the spirit pervading our
world around us is not coincidence and that in fact it's by careful
and evil design. I'm grateful that we understand as the faithful to
Christ's heart in this country, that we are being called to be set
apart from the spirit of this world. I take joy in the fact that as
we give gifts to one another, it's in pure commemoration and
remembrance of the greatest gift that has ever been given. As we
enter this season it's in a spirit of awe and with the deepest
gratitude, wholly observant of the fact that we don't celebrate
things, but instead the One who gave the greatest gift to us.
We
recognize that as Christ gave the greatest of gifts to us, it was
presented in a spirit of humility and grace to people horribly
undeserving. As He gave it, it was with the knowledge that we could
never do it justice in return. The only things He required of us was
our belief in Him ... and love - love for our God and also by His
commandment ... for one another. So as we think of those we can give
gifts to this Christmas in His Spirit, we're aware by His example
that the greatest gifts we could give are those given to the broken
and undeserving and that the greatest and most priceless gifts we can
share with them is our love.
So
this we present in humility and without the expectation of material
things in return. By the example of our Lord, we give it knowing that
beyond anything else the most important thing that we can give to
anyone ... is our love as Christ values it. So in answer to the
question - "what do we do about it?" we stand to do this in
a spirit of joy, awe and respect in observant honor of His example -
contrary to the world. This is what we do, because as He is, this is
who we are in Christ. And as the world watches in wonder, we know
that as we've been faithful to follow His example, by His grace they
will have seen Him through us this Christmas. There is nothing
greater that we have to offer ...
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