james one five

That’s awesome, me too. Are you making enough money? Do you want a nicer car? Maybe you took advantage of the real estate boom of the last ten years and upgraded houses? By the way, how is that working out?

Of course enough is never enough because we always want more. Believe me, me too. I am the same way in that I would like all that this life has to offer. I mean, eat drink and be merry right? Doesn’t God say want us all to live happily and live life in abundance right? More on that later.

For now, I have a word from God for all of you who work hard to be the best you can be for yourself and for your family. Have you ever stepped on anyones toes, maybe a little white lie to get a little ahead? You gotta do what you gotta do right? Only the strong survive?

Let’s see what Jesus says.

Mark 8:34-38 (New American Standard Bible)

³⁴And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

³⁵“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

³⁶“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?

³⁷“For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

³⁸“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Next time someone asks you if your planning ahead and if you got your 401K ready then ask them, better yet ask yourself if your ready for the life beyond this one.

What do you live for? Because what you live for is an indicator of who you live for. Do you spend your nights awake worried because you put your trust in men at the New York Stock Exchange? Let that be a lesson to all those who calls themselves children of God. If you consider yourself redeemed by the blood of Jesus then ask yourself, is a trip to Hawaii worth eternity Hell?

Not to say that we can’t have fun or that if we work hard we can’t have nice things. What I’m saying is, be careful what you make most important in your life. God’s word says what good would it be to gain the whole world but to lose your soul?

So if you work hard, take a vacation. If you save up buy yourself something nice. But be careful…

Luke 12:13-21 (New International Version)

¹³Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” ¹⁵Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

¹⁶And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

¹⁸“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘

²⁰“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

²¹“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Now maybe you have realized that you’ve been putting too much focus on your possessions and not enough on serving our Lord. Listen when I tell you, the only reason your still breathing is because God loves you and he is merciful. He is giving you time and a chance to repent. Don’t hold it against yourself, we all fall into that trap. Forgive yourself and forgive others for doing the same. Then change your direction and see how much God blesses you.

I do want my best life now. But, more than that I want my best life in the next life. I hope you also learn to want the same.