I've really been thinking about how hard it will be on kids this Christmas, particularly kids in the United States. And then I think about the kids that get a shoe box full of necessities and a couple toys. That's all they get, all year.
Then there's my grandparents, and probably yours too, that if they got a piece of candy and an apple or an orange, once a year, they were elated. Maybe our cups of material blessing prevent us from obtaining spiritual blessings. A cup can only hold so much, right? God overflows it with His grace, but we have so much.
Could the reason we don't experience freedom, or healing, or X blessing/wish/desire be because we will misuse what we gain? That we won’t give God the glory? That it will hinder His kingdom rather than further it?
I think there are many reasons, and to try to understand God’s ways is not wise. “As the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts your thoughts,”
I’m not saying it’s bad to be rich. I’m not saying that people should feel guilty for having money. Because after all, God is sovereign, and He makes rich whom He makes rich, and makes poor whom He makes poor. Abraham was wealthy. Job was wealthy, and his prosperity doubled after his ordeal. Property isn’t a Western thing either. Abraham bought land and a cave to bury Sarah. The Israelites were promised land in Canaan.
I’m just saying.. if we have a lot.. let’s give a little more. Not just willy nilly, not without cost. Let’s give our time, our most precious resource, to those who don’t get much. To the lonely, to the hurting, to the disabled. Let’s give our talent to those who can use it. Our mental abilities, our professional skills, our creativity. God gave us His only Son. Let our lives be an outpouring of gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving.