Girls, I'm so sorry, but I just re-read these chapters and I'm really wanting to post some thoughts before they escape me!! i don't know how coherent it all will be since it's getting late and I am tired... anyway, talk about some convicting chapters!!! If you don't want this to spoil your reading, don't read this thread until you're done oki? :-)
First of all, it's obvious that materialism is not good. That we are to be careful with our finances. And not to place our heart on the things on earth but on things in heaven. Easier said than done!!! I thought, why is this book SO HUGE??? How much can Alcorn dig into our consciences about money? I didn't realize how often the Lord addresses money and how several times He judged "the REALITY of a man's salvation based on his willingness (or lack of) to part with his money for the glory of God and the good of others." If you are like me, you might consider yourself pretty generous. As Anthony calls me: outrageously generous. (I think that's a bit overstated but that's what he says..) But I have a feeling that after examining my true attitudes, I will find myself far from generous!
Convicting:"We'll eventually give an account of our lives to God... Where did it all go? What did I spend it on? What has been accomplished for eternity thru my use of all this wealth?" If Anthony thinks that I often spend frivolously, how much more would the Lord view it likewise!?
Convicting: "In Deut. the future kings of Israel are specifically warned not to accumulate horses (power), wives (pleasure) and gold (possession). Why? Because these would then become the center of the king's gravity." p.53 ooooohhh.... During residency, Anthony and I went thru really rocky period. We had very little income and we had 2 babies. We enjoyed the finer things in life and neither of us knew how to manage our finances. This was a blessing because it put us into a different mindframe than ever before. You should've seen the coupons, the self-control, the weighing of needs and wants, the prayers for every purchase, the appreciation of what the Lord provided us with, the absolute aversion to debt. When we started making money, we wanted to not be sucked into a materialistic lifestyle and accumulation of stuff. We tittered at those who looked rich and yet were up to their eyeballs in debt - big house, nice cars, fancy furniture, expensive clothes - zero in the bank account. If we don't change our ways, we will be headed that way as well. Oh Lord, bring us to our knees in this matter!!!
Food for thought: "Perhaps the "blessing" is no longer a true blessing but a curse in disguise. THe greatest blessing would be one that would return us to following God whoeheartedly - and our entanglement with wealth is certainly not accomplishing that." That goes with what I just posted on.
Convicting: "The central issue is not the things themselves, but the depletion of the resources of time, energy, enthusiasm, and money that might otherwise have been invested in the kingdom of God... Will owning this keep me from doing other things that God wants me to do?" p.56 This is an excellent section that I can totally relate to. And I know that you will too, Chris. It's uncanny how much it reflects a certain awful situation we're in!
Ok, last thing. I know I'm hogging this board but this one is so true: "It's important to avoid not only the entanglements of sin but also the entanglements in "legitimate things" that result in preoccupation with the peripheral." My stuff, activities, etc. can be one more thing that distracts me from what God wants me to be doing. I'm praying that I can eliminate this in my life - and that I can do it without judging others who continue on.
I'm moving on to the next chapters! :-)
I'm going to be devouring this book, I can tell!
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Hi, everyone....This book has got me thinking & talking. I have recommended it to almost every person I have come in contact with over the past couple of weeks! :) First off, I don't know you Christina, but I pray that your baby will be healed quickly & can come home from the hospital very soon. Now, onto the book.
I am loving the quotes in the book SO MUCH. More on that later. I'd like to touch on something from each chapter that hit me or that might encourage discussion:
Chapter 1: "None of us can enthrone the true God unless in the process we dethrone our other gods" That's the key for me. I never even considered that my money & my possessions were gods. But, as I kept reading I was convicted regarding my true thought & heart motives. These things were filling an emptiness in me, or at least I was trying to have them do that. And that led (wait, make that present tense still) to covetousness. Pg. 9 reminds me of the great truth as we read this book: "our only options, it seems, are to let Jesus wound us until He accomplishes what He wishes, or to avoid His words and His gaze altogether by staying away from His Word. The latter option is easieir in the short run. But no true disciple can be content with it." Amen. I've been staying...or running...away from the subject of surrendering this idol of mine for too long.
Chapt. 2: On pg. 18 it was intriguing to really think about where our money has been. I mean, the $1 in my wallet could've been (and sorry for being graphic here) slipped into a stripper's g-string. Yet I'm planning on using it for a hot wheels car for my son. "But now that it's [money] in your hands, use it wisely and well; use it for eternal purposes."
Chapt. 3: loved the quotes on opening page of this chapter. So much to be blown away by in this chapter. Christians are so much like the world--this has really bothered me for several years now. (Romans 12:10!!) How can we be more 'set apart' when it comes to this materialism issue? The story about the missionaries who returned to America was so striking. I've had a similar situation happen to me----I had wanted some expensive jewelry, but then we went on a mission trip & I came back with a simpler mindset. But now it's been almost 10 years since the trip & I'm asking for expensive jewelry again. It's not about the jewelry (I need to keep reminding myself about that or else I'll become legalistic about this stuff), but it's about how I've become desensitized to the materialism all around us & I "regard it as normal rather than an aberration".
Chapt. 4: Top quote on opening page by Thomas Watson. YES. Also, "when we carry on a love affair with the world, we commit spiritual adultery...Materialism consists of the 2 things God hates most--idolatry & adultery." Ok, powerful punch there!! This chapter reminds me of how God has been working in me to even desire to be changed in this area. I want to admit here that I've been a very ethnocentric American. I never even considered Christians in other parts of the world as my sisters & brothers. I had kind of disconnected myself from them. It's easy to do here--in a country where many Christians even disconnect themselves from the brothers & sisters in the church down the road from them! Needless to say, I read a book called "Hearts on Fire" by Voices of the Martyrs. I then got more involved in the VOM ministry and now my heart is changed. Because of that, I began looking at the passion & commitment in our struggling, persecuted bros/sis across the world. And comparing that to the "fat & comfortable" mentality here in America. But, whenever I would bring this concern up to other people they would inevitably say "but thank God we live in America!". Is that really a good [spiritual] thing? Pg. 46 echoes this--'perhaps the "blessing" is no longer a true blessing but a curse in disguise.' I don't want to sound ungrateful b/c I'm truly thankful for my freedom as an American, but I sometimes wonder how our spiritual lives would change if we didn't have the distractions & temptations that wealth & possessions have created for us here.
That's so convicting Wendy. You have pretty much echoed the thoughts that are in my head as well. These days, I look around at the abundance of my 'things' and am heartbroken that I've gone to such extravagance to please myself and my senses. Like you, I don't want to become legalistic - I'm grateful for the freedom we have to make a comfortable and beautiful environment for our families - and yet, I know that I barely see the excess for what it is - one more dollar less for eternity. It's thought-provoking if anything.
I too have a hard time relating to those in other parts of the world. Even here, when I encounter drug-addicted street people, I am repelled rather than moved to help. What should we do? I pray that by the end of this book we'll have some direction. So much of this I already KNOW but have trouble putting it into action. It's easy to decide to put the offering in regularly, to go on a shopping fast, to help some of our loved ones in need, but beyond that, I need some Holy Spirit-direction!
You know, what hits home is the comparison with loving Mammon as adultery against God. And it all starts with the heart. Praying for all of us to see the truth, not excuse it and praying that God will transform our minds and our hearts to be set on heavenly treasures not earthly ones.
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