Ceilings are getting higher and rooms are getting bigger, yet families are getting smaller. Does this make any sense to you? The world conditions us to believe that bigger is better, but in truth what really is better? Are you doing things and accumulating things just because you feel you need to be busy or you just want to have more and more? Remember, acquiring things is not about having things, but rather about sharing with purpose the things you have accumulated. It's not about what you and I have, but it is about if we are making the world a better place because we have them. Vanity seems to be the abiding principle of our time. Just look at the car ads, and don't take me wrong, I am as guilty as anyone of letting the shiny things of this world attract me with their vanity messages. Oh, life will be so much better when I have one of those, but in truth, it is not better and we aren't getting the real message.
There is a parable about a farmer who had such an abundant harvest that he decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones in order to hold all of his abundant crop. He then said to himself, "Now I have so many good things stored up for many years, I shall rest, eat, drink, and be merry!" That very evening the Lord said to him, "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong? Thus it will be for those who store up treasures for themselves, but are not rich in what matters to God" (Luke 12:13-21).
The message we entertain should be focused on the things from above, not the things on earth. Are we focused on the purpose of our life or the things we have accumulated in our life? My father was a man without advanced education, but he had a world of wisdom. He lost his parents at a young age and had to fend for himself. He shared this truth with me, "Attach your life to something bigger than yourself and you will not have to worry about the value of your life." I often ponder his words and the message they carry. My insight translated his message as, "If the purpose of the things I have and do is found only in the things themselves and not in what they do to make the world a better place, the meaning of my life will be of little value." From a more positive angle, "The value of anything is measured by how well it serves in filling the need to help make the world a better place; this is what really matters." Does having a higher ceiling, a bigger room or building a more massive barn make the world a better place? Seek wisdom, not things! Wise insight can suddenly reveal to you the true value of the things that are a part of your life and also the value of things that should be a part of your life.
