For Love and Money by Marla

Another great post from a friend, and one we can certainly relate to. Read, reflect, and react.

For Love and Money…

1 Timothy 610 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

    Recently, I have been drifting further away from God and I have been having a miserable time with myself.  I knew that my heart was not in the right place, something was very wrong.  I would pray and ask for strength and guidance, but I had not really opened my eyes as to what the wedge between me and my savior was made of.  Of course, I knew that I had put the wedge there.  Whenever we feel distance from God, it is because we have pulled away.   I had dropped off going to church because (insert whatever excuse you like here) and since I wasn’t attending church, I stopped tithing and stopped studying the word.  My heart wasn’t in it.  Why not?

Matthew 6 19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

    I realized just in the past few days that I had succumb to the idea that is constantly being forced down all our throats.  This idea that if you had this or that, then you would be happy.  We live in a consumer driven society, it is all around us.  No big deal, right?  Except when you accept that they are right.  If you had a beautiful home, a new car or that phone that you would be all big-white-smiles like the people in the ads.  For women, I think it is even tougher.  Advertisers are pitching us our perfect selves with flawless skin, lush hair and long lashes.  All of this is readily available if we are willing to shell out the cash.  Then all we need is to fit the gym, eat clean and lose those extra ten pounds and then we will be happy.  Right?  Right? 

    It turns out that if you keep searching for happiness in a purchase, the mirror or in your home you will come up empty-handed every time.  And all those let downs, one after another, will leave you depressed, disheartened and disenchanted.  That is where I am, disenchanted with the things of this world.  I am ready to cut the cord with all this stuff and refocus. 
Titus 2  You, however, must teach what is appropriate with sound doctrine. 2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
    One thing that my grandmother has taught me is to ask yourself ‘do I need this?’  I know that I lie to myself from time to time.  “I need new work clothes.  They are for work.  I need them.”  But more often than not, what I need is nothing.  I just don’t want to need nothing, I want things.  So, as part of my effort to refocus my mind and eyes on God, I am going to be more honest with myself.  I am making a list of things that are actually important.  My list will include things like; going to church, tithing, reading the bible, spending time with my family and spending quiet time on my own.

 I am going to practice a little self-control.  I am going to make an effort to derail my weaknesses.  For example, I am scaling back on surfing the Internet/shopping online.  It is way too easy for me to do and I find things I didn’t even know that I wanted, let alone need.  I am going to pray about my purchases.  I read a blog one time in which the woman prayed before she went shopping for something that she actually needed.  If it feels dumb to pray about it, it is probably not important and not a ‘need’.  I am also going to purge some excessive luxuries from my home and donate them to Goodwill.  Hopefully, they will benefit someone in need. 

“And the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”

I hope that through these actions; through prayer, tithing, studying the word and actively disengaging (to some degree) from the money machine that we all live in that I will find that the hole that I built in my heart will be filled once more with love.  I know that it will, because I can already feel it.  I am on the right track.