.jpg)
I do this every time I eat Frosted Mini Wheats. I love their crunchy, sugary, yumminess. But I always throw away this much. When I fill the bowl I am convinced I need this much, but when I eat them I can't eat them all. It's what I do. I'm not proud but I do what I shouldn't do although I know I shouldn't do it. (nod to Apostle Paul)
Not only is throwing away a 1/4 of a serving of cereal a wasteful act and an offense to those doing without food, it is an indication of a mind set I have adopted from the world around me. "I want what I want, as much as I want and I want it now. If there are consequences I will deal with that later."
This attitude lapses into our everyday choices. I see this attitude in my church family, in my community and in the land of the free and the home of the brave. I see this in myself. What does this desire to have what we want and "I want it now." Thank you Veruca Salt for showing us our worst selves.
John Wesley wrote in, The Christian Pattern:
"It is therefor vanity to seek after perishing riches.
It is also vanity to seek honours.
It is vanity to follow desires of the flesh, and to labour for that for which thou must
afterwards suffer grievous punishment.
It is vanity to mind this present life, and not those things which are to come."
Gee thanks John, way to hit us right where it hurts! In a world where our focus is on being the best, the brightest, to amass wealth and we deserve to have it our way because we are to live for today it becomes a constant battle of mankind to do what we know we ought instead of what we want in a world that tells us this vane way of life is what we deserve.
Is it so wrong to make a living? Making a living is what we are called to do. Proverbs 12:11 tells us, "Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense." So earning money to take care of yourself, your family and others it what is a responsible Kingdom ethic. Making money and using to turn your focus on possessions is a sin. Paul said that is why we have God's law. He says the law is what shows us what we should do. Making money and stuff our focus makes money and idol. All idols other than God are false. Timothy told us that the love of money invites evil into our lives. I don't now about you but I manage to find enough evil with out inviting it into my home.
When my youngest Alli was asked at age seven what she wanted to be she stated she wanted to be the Queen of Mustang, Oklahoma. We quickly explained that America is a democracy we don't have monarchs. "There isn't a Queen of Mustang." "There will be when I get old enough!" A winning mentality is begun at birth, passed from parents to child in hopes of bolstering their confidence and courage to face the world. How is this bad to want to be great? Striving for excellence in all we do for God to bring about the Kingdom of Heaven is actually another Kingdom Ethic. If you were to to Google (I may have...) what does the bible say about having a commitment to excellence there are numerous scriptures telling us that striving for excellence is great but all have a stipulation, "Do it to the glory of God!" DO ALL things to the glory of God. I will leave it to you and your convictions to ponder about such things as praying to win a ball game or thanking God for your latest golden statue. Could be vanity...
As I ponder my overly full tummy and the consequences of such I think back to the big bowl of cereal I made for breakfast. I won't detail the suffering I am enduring due to that massive quantity high fiber I consumed but I will mention no desire of the flesh comes without consequence and leave it at that. The consequence is not God getting cranky because you are being naughty but with every action comes a consequence; bad choice - bad consequence.
Wesley ended this section on vanity by empathically stating that it is vanity to fill your mind with the things of this world as opposed to the things of which will come. (MRV The Monica Revised Version).
Let's face it, the things of that will come are hard to wait for. We can't see them. We know they will be good, great, amazing. But we don't KNOW what it will be. We choose what is on the stage instead of what is behind door #3. So we choose the seen luxuries of life or the unseen fortune of the future. It is a hard choice the seen versus the unseen. The feel good verses a feeling we can't begin to imagine. But what it...what if we quit worrying about what is in it for us and begin to just think of someone besides ourself. How would that resinate in the Kingdom. Start small. Pour less cereal, buy fewer toys, give more, hoard less. Do the math, a little adds up. A small amount goes far.
No comments:
Post a Comment