TROPHY OR TREASURE!
Sunday’s Monday
When I’m amongst any group of people containing different cultures, various economic situations, and diverse spiritual beliefs. I question: are these trophy seekers or treasure hunters? In conversing with many I have concluded that the most common answer is BOTH (people want their cake and eat it too.) TROPHY hunters command second place (desiring fame, fortune, and popularity), and the last of the three is TREASURE seekers (spiritually seeking God’s promises). In this light, I can see where man has created new dimensions which allow one to decide when to include God’s will and ways. Quick example: business and church. We do things in the name of business that we would never do in church. My new personal theory from this research is, there are three distinct personalities involved here, 1- BOTH = greedy; 2- TROPHY = self-centered; 3- TREASURE = integrity. If your current category is not comfortable, change it!
As I was writing this piece, inadvertently clicked on the internet which opened to an article about a cross-country race that took place in December of 2012. The author Bridget Ryan writes: Kenyan runner Abel Mutai was only a few meters from the finish line, but got confused with the signs and stopped, thinking he had finished the race. Ivan Fernandez was right behind him and realizing what was going on, Fernandez pushed Mutai to victory. A reporter asked Ivan "why did you let the Kenyan win?" Ivan replied, "I didn't let him win, he was going to win. The race was his." The reporter insisted and asked again, "But you could have won!" Ivan looked at him and replied: "But what would be the merit of my victory? What would be the honor of this medal? What would my mother think of it?" The writer continues with What values do we teach our children and how much do you inspire others to earn? Most of us take advantage of people's weaknesses instead of helping to strengthen them. Matthew 6:19 (NLT), “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.
Very appropriate and timely for today’s subject! Going a bit deeper, the first group who chose BOTH, evidently missed and/or failed to understand Matthew 6:24 (NLT), “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. The blatant truth in this matter is in, Matthew 22:37 (NLT), Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” Not saying you can’t have wealth and be righteous, just saying, love God above all and be content, within His blessings.
For those that chose TROPHY, a worthless worldly symbol of self-achievement! There was a movie that came out on Dec. 13, 1996, titled Jerry Maguire “Show Me The Money” that in its own right, says it all about the love of obtaining trophies. Money, notoriety, and superiority are the ultimate goals of all trophy seekers. We find in 1 John 2:16 (NLT), For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father but are from this world. Useless trophies, that will fade into obscurity over time leaving one with empty memories. It would be good at this point for each to recognize that this TROPHY personality resides within us all, most commonly showing up daily in the form of pride, greed, and self-centeredness. Recognize and control!
Finally, there are those TREASURE seekers, those that desire more from this life than just to pass through it. Those that have fallen in love with Jesus and choose to model their lives as close to His as possible. Recognizing the value of and within every person through a love this world can’t understand. A people, challenged, to leave every place, thing, and person better than they found them. As John explains in John 14:21 (NLT), Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” The bottom line is, loving God, first, foremost, with all we have, and trust Him to provide the rest!
Father, I pray we all seek your Holy Spirit to help us rate ourselves daily and align our lives to be one of seeking your treasures. Have us grasp Hebrews 10:23-24 (NLT), 23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. May we freely leave our selfishness and greed behind for your will to be done through us on this earth. Amen
HAVE A BLESSED WEEK BY BEING A BLESSING TO OTHERS!
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