|
The Devotional Diva - Living Above Your Means
|
The Devotional Diva - Living Above Your Means
By Barbara Gobbs
Executive Assistant and Ministry Partner - Pocket Full of Change Ministries
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and He will exalt you. James 4:10 (NAS95)
Since Bob retired, we’ve had to make several adjustments. I generally don’t mind making adjustments, but Lord, why do I have to make so many all at once!
One big adjustment is of a financial nature. We’ve always enjoyed our financial blessings from God. While I don’t believe we’ve made a consistent practice of living above our means, I can’t help but wonder if we could have done better.
Actually, I wished I had heeded some advice heard years ago from one of the Christian financial gurus. The advice was to live below your means. What a concept - spend less and save more. What could be better advice – especially with the current economy? Personally, I just wanted the entire race called off! You know the race I mean - the race to see if gas and milk or milk hit $5 first. I’m not a money market wizard, but I suspect living below our financial means is wise advise.
Unfortunately, it’s possible that people have been spiritually living below their means for years. During one of his sermons, my pastor made a statement that stuck in my craw. He exhorted us NOT to live below our means. Oh-me! My spiritual vision readjusted as I realized that sometimes, I was content to live below my spiritual capacity. What was sound financial advice did not apply to my spirituality. Christ came so we would have abundant life. (John 10:10 ) Jesus did not die so I could settle for mediocrity.
There was a story about a group of people taking a tour of a large power plant. Like every tour, it ended at the front door of a gift shop. Gee, I wonder what kind of souvenirs that place sold! The tour participants were eager to find out as well, but found the store locked instead. The sign on the front door read “Closed – due to no electricity.” Can you imagine what they thought as they read the sign and looked over their shoulders to see a huge power plant capable of lighting the Eastern Seaboard? Can you say extension cord?
When times get rough, how many times do we put out the “closed” sign instead of plugging into the largest power source known to humanity? We really don’t have to lift a finger to plug in spiritually! All we need to do is open our heart, humble ourselves to the Power Source, and let Him exalt us. God has the power and because of Christ, we have the means. Why would we ever want to live below that?
Today, I close with a few questions:
Are we truly living above or below our means?
Are we above in one area in life and below in another?
Do we have it backwards?
We all have the spiritual means to plug in the greatest power source of all. The potential of the abundant life in Christ is our motive to plug in.
Powering Up!
Barbara
Divinely Inspired Victoriously Active
Barbara Gobbs is a ministry partner with and the Executive Assistant of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information, to schedule a speaker for an event, or to request a newsletter, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden, Publicist at 904 316-5462. This ministry is supported by donations. If this ministry helps you or others, and God calls you to help support this work, you can make a donation to Pocket Full of Change Ministry at POB 51205, Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32240.
© Pocket Full of Change Ministries
|
|