This World Has Nothing For Me
That phrase is much easier to say than to believe and live by, especially when you are out holiday shopping and are bombarded with hundreds of advertisements and appealing items which all beckon at a deafening level, "You need me!"
Ahhhh....make it stop!!!!
I met my good friend today, Katie M (www.mcdonnellplace.com) who I have mentioned before. We both have children so we can understand the druthers of strollers and children mixed with shopping lists and crowded places.
Our main destination today was the mall. We met promptly at 10am outside of Barnes and Noble to begin our journey into the Christmas Black Hole of materialism. Everywhere I turned I saw items that caught my eye- they were special and seemed like the perfect thing to complete my wardrobe and fill the void in my life and bring everlasting satisfaction.
HA!!!!!!
That is at least how it made me feel when I saw all these great things displayed on mannequins and in the windows that I suddenly wanted and found it hard to imagine I ever was able to live with out!
I resisted the temptation glaring in my eyes by trying to convince myself that this world has nothing for me, that true satisfaction and joy can only be found through a personal relationship with Christ- but as my mind is filled with wants and my eyes are clouded with materialism it becomes so hard to understand and even conceive this reality.
The phrase, 'this world has nothing for me' was first pounded into my head by my good friend Jenny K. She recently told me a story about how whenever she goes shopping she has to remind herself of this truth to keep her from feeling disappointed when she can't buy all the 'perfect' items she sees as she is out shopping. I can easily find myself in the same trap and realized that I too need to be on my guard.
After leaving the mall the beauty of the world flaunted itself once again before me. I drove down to one of my favorite parts of town, Park Avenue. It is a long very ritzy chic street lined with boutiques and nice restaurants all located in a very 'nice' part of town. I love being down there partly because it makes me feel important. Walking the beautiful street of Park Avenue today was no exception.
I had my hip and cool jeans on with the green stitching on the pockets, a fun sassy green belt, a cute white top, a fun maroon jacket and all the appropriate accessories. I looked the part and even walked the walk with my sunglasses on and my hair blowing in the cool Florida almost-like-winter wind, all the while I was pushing my impeccably dressed little boy in his Chicco stroller with his madras shorts on and a black turtle neck.
I was feeling quite glad to be me at that moment. All was well. I had Park Avenue and the wind. The beautiful sound of Christmas- you know beeps from registers, laughter from shoppers, music from the radios- it was wonderful. But as this was all so attractive and fulfilling to me this afternoon I realized again that this world has nothing for me.
This is experience is not what my success should be based on or how I should measure my worth and value. Just because I shop on Park Avenue and am blessed with a decent outfit- or many decent outfits- doesn't make me any more lovable and loved by God than the drunk I passed talking to an empty car with a beer in his hand, scraggly and quite pathetic looking.
The only thing separating me from the homeless drunk is the grace of God- that God has so graciously protected me from such a life and blessed me with many other good things. I did not earn any of this and God showed me that in a powerful way this afternoon. He showed me His goodness to me in how He has blessed me with many good things, He showed me His grace by how He has spared me from other things, and He showed me His discipline and love by how He was humbling me and showing me yet again that apart from Him I have nothing and can do nothing.
Life and joy are free gifts from the Lover of our souls- this world has nothing for me and can NEVER give life or joy. It flaunts things masking them with the names of 'life' and 'joy' but in the end, will always end in death if the spirit of God is not in it.
I once heard temptation equated with fishing. There is this beautiful appealing piece of bait that make our mouth water and are hearts turn with desire. We think, just one bite...just a taste...but little do we know that in that one simple innocent bite there was a hook hiding just beneath the surface and we are snagged.
Praise God for His grace- that He is in the business of gently and graciously removing hooks!
Happy shopping- this is in no way an attempt to get you to stop shopping and buying things. I am just trying to get you thinking- to toss an idea around a bit. Generosity is so good. God is in the business of gift giving- afterall every good and perfect gift comes from Him! God blesses us with finances and doesn't want us to just bury them and never see His goodness in the land of the living.
There is a difference in being controlled by materialism- feeling like you 'have' to buy things and simply buying things you need or making purchases in moderation. Shop according to the grace and peace God has given you.
I always pray before I shop for 'shopping favor' which can be shown in many ways. It is given by finding great bargains, by finding the specific item I was looking for easily, or by having wisdom with my finances to purchase things I at least sort of need instead of just want. God often answers this prayer in a clear tangible way.
Enjoy this wonderful season...It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!
posted by Kellie # 8:15 PM
