Everything I got in this world, I earned myself. A penny saved is a penny earned. Buy low, sell high. The wisdom of the world is a strange thing. It is indeed wisdom. It is indeed of this world. We live in this world. Are we called to ignore its basic wisdom?
I don't think so. We are surely expected to work--to labor and earn a wage. Husbandry is a valuable skill. Joseph beat an extended famine by exercising husbandry. The parable of the talents tells us that we are not to bury what we have in the ground, but we are to produce a good return on its investment. I believe that God expects us to use the tools and schools of this world. We are never to measure our worth or the worth of another by these means. We are not to seek our salvation and fulfillment from these means. We are not to become friends with the wisdom of this world. We may master skills and trades of this world, but they must never master us.
Our God is a jealous God. He insists on being first in your life. He demands a Lombardi type commitment. Remember that winning isn't important--it's everything. God is not just another one of your top priorities. He is everything. He has also created in us a jealous spirit that is meant to seek Him.
When we move God to second or third place, we jump into a fight that we cannot win. We can be on top for a while. We can be on top for a long while, but in the end we loose. Imagine taking that winter vacation that you have been saving for these past few years. As the plane takes off, the pilot welcomes you aboard and says, "It's going to be a smooth flight from here to Honolulu. We're not too sure if our landing gear works or if the airport is open today, but the flight will be smooth. So sit back and relax, enjoy the movie, and thank you for flying the worldly skies." That's one flight where everyone would be reaching for the emergency instruction card and asking the flight attendant for a parachute instead of a pillow. Most passengers would gladly accept a little turbulence during the flight for a safe landing at journey's end. Or would they?
Are we not tempted every day to trade in that safe landing for a smooth flight? Are we not invited to be a friend of the world? Would things not be easier if we just put money first in our lives? Are we not entitled to some self gratification over our accomplishments? Are we not justified in asking, what's in it for us?
We are entitled to ask, what's in it for us. And the answer is a choice between friends. We can choose to be friends with the world or we can choose God. The world promises instant gratification. You can go buy that Corvette you always wanted and cruise the streets feeling good. You can even skip the ego trip with the car and just visit the guy selling good times in a pill. Regardless of your sex, race, or income level, the world has something that will gratify you today. Or, you can choose God.
This isn't a relationship where you negotiate who gets to drive. God is the driver. He gives you the privilege of calling shotgun. He will give you much more too as long as you are not seeking to gratify yourself. You can't have it both ways. You cannot serve two masters. Once we have chosen God, we are told to draw nearer to Him and He will draw nearer to us. If we resist the devil, the devil will flee. We will only give in to the temptations of this world--we will only be a friend of this world--when we pull away from God. There is no offer we can't refuse if we are drawing near to God. Humble yourself before the Lord and He will lift you up. Let the spirit that He has created in you draw you nearer to God.
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:1-10 (NIV)
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