An incredible African woman of God told me the other day that there is no waste in the Kingdom of God. She expanded on it saying that God hates wastefulness.
It reminds me of a version of John 3:16 that I heard once…
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.”
And it was said that to perish means to waste away, to slowly die…and not only in the life to come but in the present age also. I don’t want to waste away or waste anything when I have the promise of everlasting, abundant life not only in heaven but even now in this life. My poverty mindset causes me to take way more than I need so that I will always have enough but in reality most of what I save becomes wasted and I do not believe God to provide for me all the things he promised to give me. But that is a whole different blog.
As of lately, I have been extremely convicted by my wastefulness. God has given me all dominion and authority on earth and he calls me to steward it well. He asks me to be wise with what he has given me. He says that if I can handle what he has given me wisely, he will bless me with more. But he has been showing me that it is not all about money. I am wasteful with so much of my life. And I think much of it comes from the Western culture I was raised in and how so many people in America have no perception or even worry about how much they waste. I know that I didn’t. But what I realized is that we should be aware of our wastefulness not only because children die every day of starvation, or because most of the world lives in poverty; but because God hates waste and in his kingdom, there is no waste. Living a wasteful life is straight up disobedience to the Lord.
“What is wrong with me?”
“Why am I even here if I am going to live the exact same way I live in America?”
“What is the point of constantly seeing poverty if my heart is left unchanged?”
It is sad, but because I have seen so much poverty in the last 7 months, I almost don’t even notice it anymore. And I think that it has affected my desire to change my lifestyle. But when you see the way people who have nothing respond to your wastefulness, you can’t help but feel ashamed.
I want to challenge you, whoever is reading this, in what areas of your life do you find wastefulness? Because I know it is not only with money or food but even untangible things, like time. I have been so wasteful with my time and the truth is, I don’t have time to waste. I am not promised tomorrow and today is already almost gone. Before I know it, my life will have past me by and I will have nothing to show for it. Even if I have all the money, materials, or experiences in the world to show for myself, what will I have to show to God? What will I have to offer him who has given me everything, even my very breath?
Do not be afraid of challenges or convictions like this and begin defending yourself. Rather, embrace the thought that we could do more to honor God with what we have. He is so worth it. And it is challenges like this that when they are embraced, our character is improved and sharpened. So I challenge you, I dare you…don’t stay the same, but let your character be refined and strengthened.
