No
matter where you go, every little kid is the same. At some point in their young
little lives they realize, if you have something… then they don’t. It doesn't matter if it’s a toy or a cookie, suddenly a light comes on and they realize they are missing out.
When that happens, things are snatched, a face is contorted and they spit out their first four letter word, “MINE!”
As hard as we try, to teach kids to share, that switch never turns off again. As adults it looks different. We would never snatch and scowl and use such an ugly word. By the time we've grown up, we've learned to manipulate and maneuver to conceal the ugliness of our action, but our hearts haven’t changed.
A selfish and coveting heart is a wicked thing and we are all born with one. And it is fed throughout our lives by ads and billboards, television, radio and movies that shout, “Newer, better, faster, smarter, sexier and more satisfying!”
Maybe we've grown up enough, those things don’t bother us. Maybe we think we've matured. We don’t want “the things of this world.” Our hearts are pure.
But what about my freedom, my rights, my power, my authority, my position, my will, my integrity, my character, my reputation, my life? How do we respond when those things are threatened, questioned and taken from us?
So much damage has been done in the church by pious saints who wouldn't dream of a “frivolous” purchase, but would protect their position with venom. It may look different than the money hungry mobs in Wall Street or the glamour craved stars of Hollywood, but the heart is no different.
If I have truly been crucified with Christ, “mine” is the four letter word that offends him the most.
When that happens, things are snatched, a face is contorted and they spit out their first four letter word, “MINE!”
As hard as we try, to teach kids to share, that switch never turns off again. As adults it looks different. We would never snatch and scowl and use such an ugly word. By the time we've grown up, we've learned to manipulate and maneuver to conceal the ugliness of our action, but our hearts haven’t changed.
A selfish and coveting heart is a wicked thing and we are all born with one. And it is fed throughout our lives by ads and billboards, television, radio and movies that shout, “Newer, better, faster, smarter, sexier and more satisfying!”
Maybe we've grown up enough, those things don’t bother us. Maybe we think we've matured. We don’t want “the things of this world.” Our hearts are pure.
But what about my freedom, my rights, my power, my authority, my position, my will, my integrity, my character, my reputation, my life? How do we respond when those things are threatened, questioned and taken from us?
So much damage has been done in the church by pious saints who wouldn't dream of a “frivolous” purchase, but would protect their position with venom. It may look different than the money hungry mobs in Wall Street or the glamour craved stars of Hollywood, but the heart is no different.
If I have truly been crucified with Christ, “mine” is the four letter word that offends him the most.
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