Do you really think that God is all that concerned about your job?  Do you really think that He is focused on your need for a new car?  Do you really think that God wanted you to get that promotion?  Do you pray that God will satisfy all of your desires because you “deserve it” for being a good boy?  It’s time for a Reality Check.

I’ve encountered too many broken lives who walked away from God because of a misunderstanding of who He is.  I ache in my bones when I see a false interpretation of the almighty creator of the universe neatly tucked into a box that fits into your self-designed lifestyle.  Go live in a 3rd world country where food and clean water are scarce… watch your prayers change.  Watch your perception of “blessings” change.

It’s hard to imagine that God would truly want me to have that car, or get that promotion, so I can earn more money and spend it on more things that aren’t lined up with God’s heart.  Doesn’t it make sense that God accepts you and loves you whether you get that promotion or not?  If you get the promotion and I don’t, does that mean God loves you more?  Sounds silly doesn’t it.

Why would God bless you with more stuff… if you can’t even honor him with 3% of it?  Why would you ask God to bless you with more possessions and greater success if your only plan is to feed your lust for success, possessions, and wealth?  If our hearts aren’t lined up with God’s heart – aren’t you really using God for your own gain?

The reality check we’re going through here feels more like a “hockey check” – as we get slammed into the glass – right?

Read and contemplate the urging from John the Apostle:

Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. 1 John 2:15-17 (MSG)

God consistently shows himself throughout the Bible to be more concerned with the first position in your heart.  He consistently lavishes blessings on people in the form of love and acceptance.  God consistently shows Himself in story after story through the blessings of contentment, peace, and satisfaction of His presence… not wealth and prominence.

Your lack of wealth, your not-so-new car, your crappy career, your “not enough”… doesn’t indicate God’s lack of favor on your life.  I’ve learned (through many hard lessons) that my thirst for God usually diminishes my need for anything more than “enough.”  And “enough”, in my culture, is typically more than I really need…. so He compels me to use my abundance to serve others – in time, resource, and presence.

Having wealth and possessions doesn’t mean you don’t love God.  But when they become your first thought, your first pursuit, your first desire… you’ve bought yourself an idol.  When you pray for finances or possessions or promotions to arrive in order to relieve your stress levels… you bought yourself an idol.

Think about these things:

1. If you ate food today and slept in a warm place, but want more…you need a reality check.
2. If you place your desire for stuff above your need for God’s presence…you need a reality check.
3. If you use the Bible to justify that your possessions are not idols… you need a reality check.
4. If you pray for bills to be paid and look to God to be  your bank… you need a reality check.

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