Translate

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Value and Ownership

Good evening..

One of my CG member made this devotion and I just want to share it with you here! I believe it can be a good reminder for all of us :D
____________________________

"And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate ; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate." (Genesis 3:6 - AMP)

The happiest people don't have the best of everything, but they MAKE THE BEST OUT OF EVERYTHING.

In the world where we were taught from a young age that more is better, this is indeed a very conflicting ideology.

Everything in this world has a value, though nothing in this world has a definite value because each of us is different and see things differently. Our VALUATION SYSTEM, which is based on our perspective, will determine who we are, because ultimately it will decide our actions, words and behaviours.

Adam and Eve were both given the whole garden of Eden, YET they fell for that one tree in the middle. You can ask why did they do that? Wasn't the whole garden of Eden enough?

I've met with a lot of people that actually shared this perception. They sacrificed time, friends, family, and relationship with God to get something more, to be able to feel fulfilled. I often ask why that's the case? It always came back to perception about life and how they value life.

1. Everything that we OWN, we DO NOT own 
    
I've heard many people saying that you have to work harder to get more. While I have no problem with this philosophy, most people seems to forget about GOD'S INTERVENTION in the 1st place, that gave us the opportunity to be where we are at today.

During the time of creation, it was GOD WHO MADE Adam and gave him life. A few dust particle didn't decide to suddenly come together and formed a human being, but it was God's intervention. Then God GAVE HUMAN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK (naming the animals) and TO ENJOY GOD'S BLESSING.

THEREFORE, EVERYTHING THAT WE OWN HERE, WE DON'T REALLY OWN.

It is because, we were created by God, which takes away the OWNERSHIP of our own life from us. What we own in here, that comes for our own hard work, MUST BE THEN ACCREDITED TO GOD BECAUSE HE OWNS OUR LIFE, AND GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY to be where we are at today.

Once we realized this, we will start to give thanks, rather than complaining about what we're lacking.

2. Value is INDEPENDENT of price tag.

When someone gave me a gift for my birthday, if somehow I managed to lose it or damage it, I would feel more devastated than losing or damaging something that I bought myself. Even if that gift is less expensive than the things that I bought on my own.

That is because, to me personally, VALUE IS INDEPENDENT OF PRICE TAG. If your value system based on price, then there is nothing satisfying you because you will always find something of a higher value every time and you will never feel content with what you have.

Just like Eve when she first saw that tree, she looked at it and focused on what she's lacking, instead of the abundant blessing that she already had. That "ONE MORE" mentality, the feeling of dissatisfaction about who we are and what we have was what separated God and human.

If you are feeling unfulfilled or discontent about life, I encourage you to CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE ABOUT LIFE. Once we start changing our perspective, we start seeing that ALL THAT WE NEED IS FOUND IN CHRIST AND CHRIST IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.

I am not telling you to slack off and let everything fall into places by itself. We need to WORK HARD and GIVE OUR BEST IN EVERYTHING, but we have to remember : WHO OWN US? 

Is it money and materials? Or it is GOD? Ask then reflect this question to yourself..

* NO DOUBT YOU HAVE TO OWN MONEY AND MATERIALS IN THIS WORLD TO BE ABLE TO LIVE, BUT DON'T LET THEM OWN YOU.
__________________________________

Addition : Put your value based on what is RIGHT AND TRUE which you can find in Christ alone.. Set it AS THE FOUNDATION of your life.. Knowing that in the 1st place, from the beginning, it was GOD WHO HAS THE OWNERSHIP OF THE LIVE YOU LIFE NOW.. As He said :  I have engraved you on the palms of My hand (Isaiah 49:16)..

CONQUER THE WORLD.. BUT DON'T LET THE WORLD CONQUER YOU.. 

That's it for now.. It's a good devotion, isn't it? Hope it encourages you in many ways.. Have a great night and weekend everyone! :)

Regards, Cindy

3 comments: