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Reading Psalm 49
Reading Psalm 49
If I had just a little bit more, it would be enough. I remember distinctly in college the first time I learned of 'relative deprivation'. As you see that you have less than your neighbor, you feel deprived. You have a car that gets you where you need to go, although it is a 59 Studebaker station wagon, you are deprived because your friend has a new Trans Am Firebird.
God has saddled us with the responsibility of deciding what is important in our lives. Such decision requires discerning not just between right and wrong, but also good and better. It requires discerning not just between 'need' and 'too much', but 'enough'. Thus, it involves our very material existence: having 'enough' and 'just a little bit more'.
This is then a matter of attitude, desire, and focus. The Bible deals with several different problems that people find themselves dealing with:
· There are those that TRUST in their wealth - Psalm 49:6
· There are those that are greedy and covetous - Col. 3:5
· There are those that are envious - Psalm 73
· There are those who desire to get rich - James 4
In each of these, the problem is not money, but the love of money. The problem is not having 'some', but 'enough'.
This balancing act is the challenge unto all of us. We need a certain level of material things in order to live (exists - not die). These things are not to be the center and goal of our existence, for we are to love God with all of our hearts, we are to seek that which is above, we are to set our hope on things eternal (cp Matt. 22:37; Col. 3:1-2; 1 Pet. 1:13).
We see different levels of success in this struggle. We see those that lived in deep poverty who were more than willing to share (2 Cor. 8:3-4). We see those that were rich needing to be instructed on the willingness to share (1Tim. 6:18-19). Most of us fall in between, yet are instructed: "If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content" (1Tim. 6:8).
It is God that has set this challenge before us. It is God that will judge. I pray that I have learned to distinguish between 'enough' and 'a little bit more'. Are you discerning the difference in your life? Hugh DeLong
