“We spend far too much time consumed by our consumption.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – February 18, 2021
Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 1 Corinthians 8:6 (NRSV)
Gift is the word spoken over creation by the very breath of God. Life is given and sustained as a precious gift given by the Father, from whom and for whom all things exist. We are invited to receive this gift from God, and then through our words and deeds offer it back to God in heartfelt devotion and sacrificial living.
Every breath that you take is an invitation to live your life in alignment with the rhythms of the life of God. You have a daily choice to live in harmony with the Lord and respect and cherish this gift, or to exploit it and distort its intended use. This is the reality of freedom. We are free to receive this gift and speak the same words of hope and peace into the world, or we can reject the gift and speak our own words into being.
The Lord speaks life, yet we often speak death. He speaks freedom, and we instead choose bondage. He speaks simplicity, and we live lives of excess. He calls us to generosity, and we instead speak scarcity or greed.
Today, you are invited to look at the small and often unnoticed parts of your life and reflect on the ways they honor the gift of life, or the ways they reject it through distorted habits of living, buying, consuming, and relating to others.
One of the most helpful ways to cultivate a lifestyle of gift-receiving and gift-giving is to intentionally choose a life of simplicity.
We spend far too much time consumed by our consumption. The way we spend our time, money, and resources can either set us free or deepen our bondage. One simply cannot be overrun by your own passions and pursuits and retain the margin to care for those you love and are meant to serve. Simplify your relationship to your stuff, not as an end in and of itself, but so you can be free to love your neighbor and share the gift of life that you have been given by the Lord.
Prayer
Father, just as you have given the gift of life, set us free to share that gift through concrete actions of loving service towards others, we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
In what ways have your habits of consumption consumed you and your ability to love others with your time and money?
Related Reading
Ecclesiastes 4:6; Matthew 6:19-21; 1 Corinthians 13:4-5
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