Happy are people who show mercy, because they will receive mercy” (Matt 5.7 CEB)

“I can feel the presence of the Lord, and I’m gonna get my blessing right now!” – These are lyrics to a well-known song in my faith tradition.  If I’m not mistaken, the song is called “The Presence of the Lord.”  For various reasons, I’ve never been a fan of this song.  It always came across a bit self-serving and “I’m-gonna-get-mine-ish.”

Granted, there are plenty of folks within Christian circles who simply want to receive from God the nicest of things for the worst of reasons.  If we’re not careful, we can ask God for bigger, better material objects for the sole purpose of collection.  Now, I must admit, this can be a sticky topic.  One reason for this is how folks tend to superimpose their choices about the purchase of certain items onto their sisters and brothers in the faith family.  I don’t want to come across this way.

I do, however, think we sometimes err on another side of things.  Sometimes we gravitate toward the notion that one who spends “x” amount of $ on such and such is not a spiritual person and hasn’t put Jesus first.  We do well not to judge such matters so quickly.  The above passage is not only about money or what we do with our resources.  Yet, in many ways, it is about such things.  What are we going after in procuring certain items of possession?  When we ask God for his “blessings,” what do we have in mind?

Think also about our tendency in the western world of seeing salvation through an individualistic lens.  For example, one may focus upon salvation as simply the forgiveness of personal sins.  And this is an important aspect of the “saved” life.  Yet, the New Testament witness emphasizes persons being transformed by the Holy Spirit as viable parts of the Body of Christ.  The “body,” “temple,” “people” of God are each corporate images of what it means to be “saved.”  We’re forgiven to participate in the forgiving community.  We’re reconciled with God to be agents of reconciliation with others.  We’re at peace with God through faith in Jesus in order that we now operate as agents of peace to a fragmented and violent world.

At the heart of the example that Jesus gives us is the understanding that God is self-giving love.  Not that he gives of himself from time to time, but that he is self-giving love at the core of his character.  We’ve often heard the hymn – “Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.  But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings” (Phil 2.6-7a).  I remember sitting in a Galatians class at seminary where a friend of ours, Dr. Adewuya, was teaching about this.  He emphasized the fact that if you want to see how God is, then you must look to the incarnation and, ultimately, the cross.  Here we discover more than a time where God did a great deed.  You see who God is in his activity through Jesus’ self-emptying, other-affirming love.

All this to say that those who are truly happy will be those who have the character of self-giving, other-affirming, Jesus-like love developing in their lives.  And the more that we pour out to others in meeting them at their point of need, the more God pours into our lives.  This includes material resources but goes beyond them.  The popular maxim – “I’m blessed to be a blessing!” – actually gets at this quite well.  If we show God’s mercy to others, which is through a variety of means, then God continues to pour His merciful acts of deliverance into our lives.  In this way, we should desire to be “blessed” in every way that God will allow, as long as we’re being a conduit of God’s blessing to others.

I am quite disturbed by a trend I have noticed among many people my age (20-30) or even older.  It seems that we oftentimes feel we must have what our parents have – house, new cars, boat, etc. – immediately.  We fail to realize that our parents have worked a lifetime for their belongings, but we have just begun.  Thus, we see more people being irresponsible with their money and time.

I propose that this is the direct result of a combination of two main things.  First, marketing is geared to make us feel that we need MORE.  Think about commercials, billboards, magazines, etc. that you have heard or seen lately.  Behind the glitz and glamour is the sometimes subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) message, “You need more!”

Secondly, we have failed to listen to the voice of Scripture which teaches a contrary message to the above.  Scripture repeatedly admonishes, “Be content with what you have.”  Hebrews 13.5 states (TNIV), “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” We focus so much on the love of money part, but I rarely hear a focus on being content with what you have.  The passage does not say, “If you have all of your needs met, be content with what you have.” Or “If you own your home and you have a good job, then be content with what you have.”  This passage just urges us to be content with whatever it is that we have, whether lack or abundance.

Don’t get me wrong – I think planning a future is vital in order for a family to thrive.  What I am concerned about here is this commercially-driven attitude that if I do not have the latest and greatest, then I need more.  This is an attitude that places possessions and economic security above devotion to Christ.  This is the attitude of the rich man in Mark 10 who was not willing to give up everything he had for his Savior.

I do not want to wake up one morning and find that I have turned into that man.  Instead, I want to be like Paul, who says in Philippians 4:12-13 (TNIV), “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”  And, Paul backed up this claim with a life containing many trials, where he was imprisoned and martyred for Christ.

So, I pray that we will learn to live the simple life — a life unhindered by the drive of always needing more to be content.  My question to us all is how do we do this?  What steps have you taken to ensure that your family recognizes that serving Christ is always more important than financial security?  What should this look like, not only in our families, but in our church community?

Blessings,

Dee