Week Nine - More, More, More

"More, more, more," cries society, "more entertainment, more sports, more food, more excitement." In an insatiable urge to fulfill every physical desire, they continue scrambling to collect more stuff, do more things, and have more than their wallet can afford. 

We are often like the person at the restaurant gorging themselves until bursting and then picking up the dessert menu. We think life should have no limits or restraints, every whim should be catered for, and every desire should be realized. 

In the Western world, we have so much wealth that we cannot imagine being without food or hindered in our dreams. We are happy and content as long as life goes so prosperously along with us. Why? Because, as Spurgeon says, our "love is the love of the table, not of the Host: a love to the cupboard, not to the Master of the house."

While we are so busy consuming, we fail to recognize the Source. Who is it that gives you wealth? Where does your good health come from? Who provides for you?

We are often like the city kid who doesn't know where his vegetables come from. He buys and consumes without consideration or thought for the hours of labor by the farmer or the sun and rain from God in heaven.

Today's blog is a call to reality. Do you find yourself caught in the consumer trap? Do you buy needlessly or spend impulsively? Do you rarely stop to thank God? Do you recognize all you have as a gift from Him, or do you consume without thought or thankfulness?

I remember my grandmother advising my parents about saying grace at the table. She told them, "When we began thanking God for what we had to eat before each meal, God blessed and increased our lives."

So my parents began saying grace, a practice that has continued. Do you and your family stop to pray before meals? 

Let me challenge you. Before you stuff another greasy hamburger in your mouth or gulp down another milkshake, carefully consider whether you are consuming without thought or can honestly thank God for this treat. Before spending money on another device, consider whether it is a wise investment or just another trinket that will wind up in a drawer. Are your eating and spending habits honoring the Host, or a sign of you uncontrollably wanting more, more, and more?