Wednesday, March 30, 2011

When success is equated with excess...

As an Economics major, a whole dang lot of my experience in college is about money. Things taught in the classroom like how to spend it properly, when to save, return on investment, etc. and also things outside of the classroom like deciding how much to work vs spend on school, how much money am I going to owe in student loans after this is all done, what kind of job am I going to get when I graduate, etc. Overall, the message proclaimed through the worldview of people within the major is 'how can I make myself better off'. I love when the Bible talks about money because in most cases (if not all) it's related to surrender and trust. While the world says get as much as you can, Jesus says give all that you have.

We live in a culture where the more money you have, the more you are looked up to. It's a sad reality but why else would we have shows like "Cribs" (is that show even on anymore?)? We see people's "treasures on earth" and applaud as if they are living life to the fullest. Jesus had everything yet he gave up everything so that we might have everything that God intended for us. God shows us that real value and worth does not come in things of this earth but only what we have in Himself. God blesses us so that we might bless others. Our identity is not found in what car we drive, how much we make, or our 401k. Our identity is in the priceless value of knowing Jesus and His grace shown to us on the cross.

The whole topic that we're discussing this week is "Genuine Love of Christ". Is it really love when we see that Jesus gave up everything for us and we only give up a portion of ourselves? Or is it really genuine when we tithe just because God tells us to? These are questions I'm asking myself all the time. What's my motivation for doing things? Am I tithing because I realize that everything I have is His and I'm giving it right back or do I give so that I might get something in return?

Full surrender is love for Christ. We're told in Philippians 2 to have the same mind of Christ Jesus. When Jesus is arrested in the garden, He tells Peter "Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matt. 26:53). Jesus had the choice to either save His own life or surrender everything for the advance of the Kingdom. Shouldn't we be in that same mindset? Willing to lose everything for the sake of the Gospel?

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