I will readily admit that I am very stingy with my money; however, as my wife will tell you, I have my moments of really spending money. Those times do not come very often, but when they do, I tend to get some expensive stuff. Lately, I've been checking out smart phones so that we can switch our provider to get a better deal -- price wise -- with a new company. Well, tonight, I got a call from a friend who is facing some rather odd circumstances.
I've spent a good bit of time on research and pricing the phone I have identified, and, boy, it will be a good phone. Yet, why is that my priority? I've not put up a journal here lately because I've been "too busy." Really? Too busy? Granted, I have pulled some late nights and will have a LONG day tomorrow, but being too busy was not the issue at all. It was stupid priorities that need to be balanced.
As I was pondering that and getting ready to put the kids down, I knocked my Bible over and it opened to an underlined verse -- I Corinthians 5:15 "and He died for all that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him to died for them and rose again." Yeah, Lord, I get the message.
For those that have placed their faith in Christ, we cannot live for ourselves. Our lives are to be devoted to serving Him and fulfilling the purposes that He has for us. In other words, we look for opportunities to minister to others in word or deed. The problem, as I have personally evidenced, is that we do not look for those opportunities under the guise of being "too busy." We have all the time that we need, but we make choices to neglect certain things.
Why should we live for Him instead of ourselves? Isn't it my life after all? No, no it is not. The key to understanding this piece are the last 3 words of the verse -- "and rose again." We have life in Christ because He conquered death. He paid the price for the sin of all mankind on the cross -- He died -- but He provided new life because He conquered death -- He resurrected. For me to live with the right priorities, I need to forsake the old things and put on righteousness (v 21).
Smart phones and "stuff" are cool and lots of fun; however, they cannot be the priority of our lives. If so, we are not living as we should because we are not living for Him. We are challenges to clean up our lives and perfect "holiness in the fear of God" (I Corinthians 7:1). Sometimes the most innocent of calls or personal clumsiness can be used to challenge a personal perspective. He does work in mysterious ways, but are you looking??
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