My Best, In The Strength of Christ

Aaagh! I don't know if you will find this under the deluge of Cyber Monday e-mails, but I will do my best in the strength of Christ to faithfully write it. After a record buying weekend, they still want more? Yes, the world is fully tuned to more. You need more money to meet the bills this month; that Cyber Monday advertiser needs more customers to pay off its debts; the government needs more tax money to shovel into the insatiable fire it has going, and everywhere we look is the striving for more and more. All of the money I have earned in this life has always added up to one thing: not quite enough to do everything I wanted to do. You see no matter how much I earned on the paycheck, my wants played that game of more better than I could play the money game. God satisfies the needs, but my wants come from the flesh. In finance, my best was never quite good enough. So I turned to God and poured out my wants to Him.

As I tumbled down the road to poverty, lo and behold, the wants returned with reinforcements! What is up with that? The funny thing, other than my wants rather tenuous connection with fiscal reality (Maybe I'm qualified for some sort of government spending job?), is that God did not answer all of my wants by simply providing from His limitless storehouse. In many cases, God satisfied my want by removing or toning down the wanting. I do not have to get back into a company where I strive for more money each year and fall into deep despair when I cannot get that next promotion or raise. Life should not be a continual striving after money. Do we minister to God or to Mammon?

Before everyone runs out on this busy Monday to quit their jobs, what is the answer to our provision in this world? My best is not good enough to meet even the standard of the world, but someone we know has overcome the world. My best is weakness, but my best in Christ is a different story. The strength of Christ is available to us to endure if a job is a trial in our present circumstance. We have faith that where we stand now is not God's final word on the matter. A career field may not be all you had hoped a few years back when you started the new job. A company that seemed so caring may have grown into just another corporate entity out to control costs, and made it clear that you are nothing more than one of those costs. In fact, this entire world is not God's final word. We have a glorious future in Christ, and today may not seem very glorious. However, our witness is at stake today. Do your best in the strength of Christ to perform your job with energy and gratitude. God will work on those wants either to fulfill or to tone down their yapping. Have faith in Christ on this fine Monday!

Bucky