Get a college degree → Get a good job → Make lots of Money = SUCCESS!
I have been on this path for years. I changed my major to marketing a year ago to… make money! I wanted a great job so that I could buy nice things and live the dream! Then something happened. I saw a video of orphan children living in the jungles of Uganda in the depths of poverty. Those are images I will never forget. That day God started opening my eyes, slowly, but surely. He reminded me of the broken and hurting, both in third-world countries and the developing world. He reminded me of poverty. He opened up my eyes and reminded me of those who are “living the dream” and are miserable. He reminded me that He says in Isaiah 1:17
“Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. “
These are not suggestions, these are commands. But that’s what every good Christian wants to do right? Who would disagree with those commands, even if we don’t always follow through? Then we look at a verse in Matthew that seems a little too extreme to most,
Matthew 19:21
“Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
PUNCH. IN. THE. GUT. This is not what I want to hear. That’s not what any of us want to hear. That doesn’t sound like success. That doesn’t sound like popularity. That sounds… incredibly hard. Now I’m not saying that every Christian in America needs to go sell everything and move to the slums of Kenya, but it certainly suggests that God wants us to set our sights on Him. He has given each of us talents and gifts that can be used for His glory, to further His kingdom. He wants us to live a life of sacrificial love.
This made me start to REALLY think. God wants all of me. My flesh wants to give him part. I think about all that God has blessed me with. A family. Shelter. Food. Clothes. But the most amazing thing that He gives? Salvation. He offers forgiveness, love, and eternity with Him. In exchange He wants us to live our lives following Him. Showing His love where others have shown judgment. Shining His light where darkness prevails. Clothing the naked. Feeding the hungry. He wants the small amount of our time here on earth to serve Him in exchange for ETERNITY with Him! When I think about it that way it seems like an incredibly small price to pay.
If someone told me that if I served them for 5 years and at the end I would get 5 million dollars I would be tempted to say yes. God asks far more than that, but He offers a reward beyond compare. I have an eternity to know no hunger, fear, or pain. I have but a short time to share the love of Christ so that others might join me one day.
I was privileged to hear Tony Campolo speak tonight, and these are a few of his words that spoke to me, and I hope they speak to you as well.
“After what Jesus did for you, is there anything you wouldn’t do for Him? Will you do what He wants you to do? Will you go where He wants you to go?”
