It’s so easy to become obsessed with your possessions, your social standing or how much money you have. Whether it is because you have so much or because you have so little, it seems like you are always left wanting something more or something different.
We search and search for something to fill that spot that cries out for more and, in the end, the things of this world will never do so. This is true of all people, whether they are Christians or not. When we put things or people before God, we become are looking for idols and idolatry is something God cannot abide.
There is a part of us that tells us if something is good or bad. It is what we call our conscience. But, we are fallen and cannot always tell what that voice inside us is telling us to do.
We twist it to what we want it to be. We find things that support us in it, as well. Christians will point to one or two verses, out of context, that allow them to continue to grab more and more in life. In church circles, those who preach this, are preaching a prosperity gospel.
God does want to prosper us who belong to him but he wants us to put value in the same things he does. We want this and that and what he wants is for us to cling more and more to him and to what is important in life. We are encouraged to ask him for good things but what is good in God’s sight?
A new car, a new house, high-fashion clothes or the person you desire are not important to your spiritual life. We are to look to God first and always, not to what society says is good, for true meaning and completeness.
Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit but it is up to the individual whether or not they will listen to his voice. He will guide you if you are open to it and ask for it and abide by what you are told to do.
That is hard if that something is not what you want to hear. Some Christians say their prayers aren’t answered because they didn’t get the answer that they wanted. Or worse, they take it to mean that God has confirmed what they want to do because they weren’t listening to what he said.
That empty space wasn’t empty to begin with. It was the part of humans that interacted with God. When mankind fell, that part of their spirit died immediately and for all generations until Jesus was born.
The curse of spiritual death is inherited through fathers but Jesus’ father was God himself. Jesus, as a man, had a connection through his spirit to God the father from the time he was conceived. His connection preceded his time on earth as, in fact, he was God himself as God the son.
When he died and raised himself again, he gave mankind a path to reconnect spiritually with God. All a person has to do is accept the gift of salvation and eternal life by acknowledging Jesus as the one who took your sins and that he is God.
The empty space will be filled once more by the Holy Spirit but beware of falling into old patterns and behaviors. The love of things of this world is sinful and Christians need to repent from the desires of their flesh.
It is a slow process but with the help of God, it becomes easier as times goes by. I am an example of a Christian who has lost their way time and time again. I have strayed more times than I like to remember.
I know when it is happening. I hear the voice of God warning me of danger and, most times, I steer clear. However, sometimes the desire for something or someone tempts me to overcome ignore that voice and go for it.
You know, whenever that happens, what I wanted brings me down and doesn’t fill me up. I look at what I’ve done and see the evil and not this wonderful thing that I felt such an overwhelming desire to have. Generally, I end up giving away the possession or ending the relationship because of that dark spirit.
That alone isn’t enough. God wants us to confess those sins and ask for his help to overcome the gnawing feeling that brings those cravings about. It is from an evil spirit that seeks to influence us so that we sin. Satan stands in the presence of God himself and accuses us each and every time we sin.
That alone makes me shudder to know that Satan and his demons are working against me. But I know that God is bigger and has already, through the sacrifice of Jesus, won the battle for me. I want to please God and not Satan. God is always good to forgive each time and helps me avoid temptation again. Things of this world are as nothing in eternity but God’s love and forgiveness is forever.
1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world [of sin that opposes God and His precepts], nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world—the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father, but are from the world.
The world is passing away, and with it its lusts [the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; but the one who does the will of God and carries out His purposes lives forever.