Watch Out!

“Then He said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” Luke 12:15 [NIV]

The default mode in conflict situations, even when you are tender hearted, is to be tough and deal with the other person. But each time you go that route, you are going against scriptures and God cannot bless you. Every time I read this portion of Scripture I wish God could have said not offending one another. Would that not have helped us a whole lot more than having to forgive one another? But God did not stop at just forgiving one another, He gave us His method which is just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Why must it be how God through Christ? There are people in your life that you need to hug after your quiet time today and tell them I have now forgiven you as Christ forgave me. I hope you will.

The third kind of stress is the Stress of Competition. We live in a competitive world.  Competition in itself is not bad if you are competing for the right things or against the right things. For instance, if you are competing with yourself because you want to be better than you were last year. There is nothing wrong with that. But competing can get so into our systems that we begin to compete for things that are irrelevant. Like competing for good looks. What consumes you is outshining the next person. Competing in possessions-  do you know that your car depreciates faster after your neighbor buys a brand new car? God has not sent you into that kind of competition. It puts unnecessary stress on you.

The story is told of a young man that almost died of high blood pressure. What was his problem? He was a very wealthy young man. He said every time he was  about to sleep, the thought that someone in his city could be richer than him drives the sleep away. And he gets up and begins to work. Is that not a problem? Many of us hear this story and we think the young man needs deliverance. But we are doing the same thing in different areas of our lives. The lady sitting beside you in the office just changed her hairstyle and it suits her face so she has been getting a lot of compliments. You too insist on doing the same hairstyle even though your facial structure is different. And now you do not look so good. Stop it!

Prayer: Father, help me always find my identity in You alone, in Jesus Name.