The gospel of "more"
1 Thessalonians 4:10 "And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more."
We are entering the season of "more". Our society has turned Christmas season into a season of massive gluttony. Yesterday was "Cyber Monday" and before it was "Black Friday". Reports are out about how many billions of dollars were spent over this four-day period.
One the one hand, spending is what supports our economy and provides jobs, increased standard of living, less reliance on government resources, etc. These are good outcomes. But the cost to us is continuing to feed the consumption engine and buying into the fallacy that our level of happiness and our status in this world is based on our possessions.
If you believe this life and this world are all that there is, accumulating the most or the nicest things is the measuring stick you by which you judge yourself. But it's not just unbelievers who fall into this trap. It ensnares many believers who are very keenly aware of the true meaning of Christmas.
We should want and should pursue "more", but not more of what the world tells us we need. As Matt Chandler once said, my fear for you is that you'll never have enough (wealth, possessions, etc.) to realize that it will never be enough. In other words, we will never realize that the happiness and fulfillment we seek can never be found playing the world's game of "more".
We all know this, we just won't (or can't) admit it. Today's shiny new treasure is tomorrow's Goodwill donation. And are we any happier or more fulfilled on the back end? "No, but if I had ____ ..." The cycle continues and so does the chase.
Our thirst remains unquenched despite the fact that we drink to the point of making ourselves sick. Why? It's the wrong well, as John Eldredge would say.
What we truly seek is living water, found only in the well of Jesus. The "more" we truly yearn for is more of Him and more of the life He showed us through Jesus. Brotherly love, grace, compassion, service of others- these are the things we should be seeking more of.
These gifts are available to us anytime and anywhere through God. They aren't on sale for a short window of time nor do they require us to stand in line at a store at midnight. But these gifts are not free. The cost to us is refusing to fall for what our flesh and the world tries to convince us is so vitally important.
What is it that I am seeking "more" of today?
We are entering the season of "more". Our society has turned Christmas season into a season of massive gluttony. Yesterday was "Cyber Monday" and before it was "Black Friday". Reports are out about how many billions of dollars were spent over this four-day period.
One the one hand, spending is what supports our economy and provides jobs, increased standard of living, less reliance on government resources, etc. These are good outcomes. But the cost to us is continuing to feed the consumption engine and buying into the fallacy that our level of happiness and our status in this world is based on our possessions.
If you believe this life and this world are all that there is, accumulating the most or the nicest things is the measuring stick you by which you judge yourself. But it's not just unbelievers who fall into this trap. It ensnares many believers who are very keenly aware of the true meaning of Christmas.
We should want and should pursue "more", but not more of what the world tells us we need. As Matt Chandler once said, my fear for you is that you'll never have enough (wealth, possessions, etc.) to realize that it will never be enough. In other words, we will never realize that the happiness and fulfillment we seek can never be found playing the world's game of "more".
We all know this, we just won't (or can't) admit it. Today's shiny new treasure is tomorrow's Goodwill donation. And are we any happier or more fulfilled on the back end? "No, but if I had ____ ..." The cycle continues and so does the chase.
Our thirst remains unquenched despite the fact that we drink to the point of making ourselves sick. Why? It's the wrong well, as John Eldredge would say.
What we truly seek is living water, found only in the well of Jesus. The "more" we truly yearn for is more of Him and more of the life He showed us through Jesus. Brotherly love, grace, compassion, service of others- these are the things we should be seeking more of.
These gifts are available to us anytime and anywhere through God. They aren't on sale for a short window of time nor do they require us to stand in line at a store at midnight. But these gifts are not free. The cost to us is refusing to fall for what our flesh and the world tries to convince us is so vitally important.
What is it that I am seeking "more" of today?
posted by Robert Jory Allen at
4:09 AM
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