Word And Verse

Just a day more, and soon the new year will be upon us. What has 2007 been like for you? What has 2007 brought about in you? These are questions I’m sure most of us would ask ourselves either today or the eve of the new year. And I’m sure that there’d be many who will be making new year resolutions too.

This past year hasn’t been a great one for me in terms of success as the world defines it. There has been no breakthrough career-wise, much less financially. In fact, quite the opposite has happened — I’ve seen a fall in my take-home income and seem to be stagnant in terms of career advancement. There have also been some difficulties that had me tossing and turning in bed, worrying about this issue or that problem.

All in all, there were more setbacks than advances for me on this little rat-race island called Singapore. I got to thinking that the reason why I am quite disappointed with how the year has turned out is because I’ve been seeing things from a worldly perspective. In other words, I have been measuring success with the yardstick that the world has fashioned.

Surely, there have been blessings that cannot be measured in financial terms or other units of measurement imposed by the world. If I were to set my eyes on eternity and the things that truly matter to my spiritual walk with our LORD and Savior, then I count so many of these blessings! Perchance some might say that that’s a cop-out. In fact, even among Christian circles, some might say that, well, I’ll need to have more ambition and do better in the new year because God desires the best for me and for everyone whom He loves to succeed in the world.

Rubbish! What then? Are we Christians to be just mediocre people getting by with what we make per month, with nary an iota of ambition for that top post in the company or to become someone who is a mover and shaker in whatever industry we might be in? In which case, we need to ask ourselves if we have indeed been made anew in Christ Jesus, or does the world still have a hold on us. If we abide in the Word, then this should abide in us also:

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:25-33

God has promised that if we seek His kingdom first, then all those things — clothing, food, and sufficient sustenance for a normal life — shall be added to us. So perhaps it follows that since I have those problems in the past year, that I have not been seeking God’s kingdom first?

Perhaps so, perhaps not.

I’ll have to admit that I am still trapped in the world’s definition of success, although I’m not chasing success itself to its ends of owning a million-dollar house complemented by a swimming pool and a luxury car. However, I still want enough to sometimes be able to afford a luxury or two, like some new electronic gadgets and replacing this old PC of mine (that should now belong in some PC cemetery) with a Macbook.

Yet the question also is that if I were to be able to seek God’s kingdom first, will I therefore be blessed with what I desire in the world?

My personal take? No, not necessarily. Some might choose to believe the heresy that is the prosperity gospel that God is just waiting to shower upon you a personal net worth of a few million dollars in Euros, or health, or victory, or whatever makes you shine in the world.

I don’t.

First off, if I were indeed seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then the trappings of the world will not be of concern to me any longer. God’s kingdom is not of material wealth, but of eternal riches.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

And if I were to chance a statement on that, I’d say that we have our eternal riches in Christ Jesus, and He alone is our prosperity. I don’t think anything’s more precious than salvation, because all is lost when one is cut off from God, who is the light and everything good! Secondly, what matters is our repentance of sin and salvation, and that’s a point that most pastors don’t teach enough of.

In fact, so many churches aren’t teaching repentance of sin anymore! All they are saying is that you can find completeness in Christ Jesus because after all the riches you have in the world, you feel empty because you have a “Jesus-shaped hole” in your heart.

There’s no such thing as a “Jesus-shaped hole” in anyone’s hearts!

Of one thing I am sure of — we are all sinners and are of depraved minds and hearts when left out on our own without God! What gives then? Are Christians to be without ambition and to remain mediocre, and be contented with what we have in material terms? Nay. It is my personal take, after thinking on this a good long while, that Christians are to have ambition and not be mediocre, though not as the world defines it, but to possess the ambition to strive to live lives that Christ Jesus has called us to, and not be mediocre Christians!

As for contentment with material wealth, or the lack thereof, know that it is the portion that which God has given you. For we ourselves are not to covet, for it is idolatry (Ephesians 5:5). Therefore it follows that if we are not to covet, then we shall be contented with what we have. If indeed you believe that God has blessed you with material wealth, then it is to be plowed back for God’s glory. If God has indeed blessed you with riches, then use that to help the poor, feed the hungry, support the spread of the Gospel in all nations.

Coming back to the retrospect on the year, i.e. what of the year 2007 then? Were someone to ask me today if I feel that I have been blessed, I’d say yes. Was it a good year then? Not materially speaking, but for the things that matter most and which money cannot procure, a resounding yes.

In closing, I’d list the five things that I am thankful for, in response to a meme that Mike at Simply a Night Owl so graciously tagged me for and which I promised I’d fulfil by year’s end.

1. I am thankful for God’s grace, patience and love for this wretched man who hasn’t been the best of His disciples, if indeed I can call myself one. Though many a times I tend to lean on my own understanding and perceived strengths, the LORD has been teaching me that there’s no strength in me without Him.
2. I am thankful to the LORD who has now brought my wife to His love and faithfulness. I am also thankful for the families we have, that our relatives, loved ones, and friends are healthy and blessed.
3. I am thankful for the trials that I’ve had this past year. Though I have found it very difficult to give thanks to the LORD for them, it is not too late to acknowledge and thank the LORD for building in me character and to learn more about myself and my relationship with Him.
4. I am thankful for the fellowship that I have with so many brothers and sisters all over the world through our blogs. I am also thankful that just as they have blessed and encouraged me with their posts, I hope that in some small way I have done the same for them.
5. I am thankful for the fact I can still be thankful for so many blessings despite the supposed gloom.

I won’t be tagging anyone in particular for this meme, as I do not want to impose on how others might want to look back on their year. Please just feel free to do the meme if you want to include it as part of your year-end post, and point it back to Mike’s post.

Shalom Aleichem.

Picture by Felinux.

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Tags: 2007, Blogging, Christian Living, Contentment, New Year, Prosperity, Success, Thanksgiving, Wealth, Work