Choosing What is Better...

February 8th, Proverbs Chapter 8

My goal lately has been to garner a better understanding of "the Christian life." In a lot of ways, my life is the same as the lives of the non-Christians around me, less a few activities deemed "non-virtuous." I don't want to live like that anymore -- so disengaged --  because despite the advertised richness, a life that attempts to worship two masters is void and barren. I'm not saying I am going to try to change the activities I engage in, the things I say, or whatever. Rather, I want to change the reasoning behind those choices, choosing instead what is better.

In Luke 10:42, Jesus famously answers Martha,"You are worried and bothered by so many things;  but only one thing is necessary. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her." Referencing Mary's decision to worship Him in lieu of slaving towards earthly obligations, Jesus reinforces what other parts of the bible teach: choosing God is investing in something eternal. When dust returns to dust, the eternal sacrifices and contributions we make for God are worth so much more than anything this world can offer.

Some of the ways that I find myself investing in "worldly things" these days is with my money, and the time I spend trying to make money. Oh, the woes that come with money, and as we are proverbially reminded, "You cannot serve both God and money," - Matthew 6:24

I'm currently in my last year of college, and I spend upwards of 20 hours each week trying to make money. You see, I have a car payment. I don't want to be in debt. God discourages debt, right? I want to get this debt payed off as soon as possible so I'm not enslaved to money. I make a lot of sacrifices so I can make money. I turned down the opportunity to take some interesting classes so I could work (my job is time-specific). I spend my energy working, sometimes, instead of investing in other people. I am sometimes excessively frugal when it comes to buying food, eating ramen (or nothing) instead of foods that are nourishing.

I wouldn't go so far to say that I'm prideful about being frugal, but I'm very cautious because I don't want to have debt. My compulsion to pay it off is, in a sense, enslaving me. This, I think, is one of the reasons God warns us not to go into debt. While it isn't a sin, it can be problematic. This, my friends, is only one of the ways that we can place money on a disproportionately high pedestal, exalting it as worth more than it actually is. Money, like most other good things in life, is merely a tool that we can use to thrive in our Christian walk. Money is good, but God's riches are better.

The riches of God - wisdom, community, worship and other blessings - are so much more valuable and sustaining than good old Benjamins. Proverbs 8 reads:

"(10) Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, (11) for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her."

Nothing...not a new XBox, an iPhone 6s, or a shiny new car can compare to the riches of enjoying God's love, living according to His laws, and growing in understanding of His wisdom. Pursuing God naturally gives us that sense of wisdom, and it is a gift worth investing in. Wisdom lasts for eternity, cars don't.

"(18) With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. [...] (21) bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full. [...] (23) I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began."

God's wisdom is eternal, and investing in it is a worthy practice. I still need to pay off my debt, but I am going to work on keeping my perspective of eternity as I do so.