Rich Person Problems

Since moving to Austin, I have been in a very interesting season. I have found myself struggling to figure out what it means to be a Christian as a single adult off the college campus. I do not have roommates asking me about what God is teaching me. I do not have a mentor that I know is committed to praying for me weekly. So, I guess you could say I am experiencing some sort of wilderness period in my spiritual life.

                 

Now, when we undergo spiritual wildernesses, there are two ways to deal with them. One way is to embrace it. We can be confident that God works all things for the good of those he loves according to his purpose. We can commit to considering it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds like it says in James. Then there is the second, much easier, route. We can complain and struggle through the wilderness. We can grit our teeth and merely bear the trials that are thrown our way.

  

Today, at Christ Community Church, Pastor Morgan gave a convicting, yet edifying sermon. Using 1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19 as a lens, he talked about greed. Many know of the famous Twitter saying #firstworldproblems, well he changed it to #richpersonproblems. Our inclination is to use first world as a euphemism. We do not willingly admit that the daily problems that we experience are blessings in disguise. To be American is to have much. Additionally, he pointed out how the Bible does not say "Money is the root of all evil". 1 Timothy 6:10 says that "The LOVE of Money is the root of all kinds of evil." Therefore, we must not preach a prosperity gospel, nor a poverty gospel. We must stand against loving money first and foremost, for it can breed many evils. We often forget how much we have. My most recent complaints screamed out at me in church this morning.

“My graduate program is so…”

“I talk to my parents three times a day.”

“This website took like thirty seconds to load.”

                

Pastor Morgan informed us that the Father of rich person problems is DISCONTENTMENT. My instinct was to write off this conclusion. I had to ask myself, Am I truly discontent? A resounding YES was echoed in my thoughts. I am often discontent with my graduate school experience, my ability to teach, my relationship status, and many people in my life. Above all things, I am discontent with my walk with God. I thought back to my time in undergrad, when I was leading a house church. I remember hungering and thirsting for God. I remembered desperately needing to read my Bible for nourishment. Pastor Morgan said that discontentment is both an addiction and an appetite. Feeding into it does not satisfy its hunger. Complaining has becoming my way of temporarily satisfying my discontentment. At the end of the day it consumes my thoughts and interactions. It has created a negativity that I have never seen in myself before.

                 

In Luke 6, Jesus warns us to “Watch out for all kinds of greed.” Greed is a sneaky sin that will consume those who not vigilant. I realized that I am a victim to multiple types of greed in my life: greed with money, greed with my relationships, greed with my knowledge, and greed with my time. The only way to overcome this monster is to grow my appetite for something else. In 1 Timothy 6, Paul says that “godliness with contentment produces great gain.” In this context “great gain” means mega-wealth. I must begin to surrender each of these different “greeds” to God, knowing that he is sovereign.

                

The Truth is that there is nothing in this world that we can take with us. Being greedy with our money, relationships, knowledge, and time is our way of covering my spiritual nakedness. The only thing that can truly cover us is the grace that Jesus Christ gave us through his death on cross. In dying he said that we are his riches and his treasure. He showed us that he valued us through this sacrifice. But is Jesus your treasure? Is he worth your sacrifice? Is his grace your ruby? Is his love your diamond?

                 

From now until Thanksgiving, I will actively take steps to make knowing Christ the food that I consume and the Truth of the Gospel the clothes that I wear. Daily, I must remind myself...My money is God’s. Christ is at the center of my relationships. The Holy Spirit guides my time.

                Results will be posted on Thanksgiving!