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W H ERE T HE R E ' S A W IL L T HE RE ' S A WAY • •
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My material life and my
emotional well-being
READ: Psalm 16
T
he message I want to bring
today is that a lack of a
means of living does not only
result in stress - it can also be the
cause of a lack of quality of life.
Some people experience it more
intensely than others. In this
respect, one can distinguish the
following categories:
The Bible is full of examples where
the believer is instructed to take
care of the poor. Even in the ear-
liest times there were people who
lacked material possessions. We
are confronted with this dreadful
reality every day - when the beg-
gar knocks on your door, street
children beg at your car window
or when you see a homeless elder-
ly person with a sign around his
neck at the traffic light.
Your income may be limited to
the extent where you are able to
buy the bare necessities. There
may not be money for luxuries -
you may always be struggling to
balance your budget. The presence
of people who are really poo r fills
you with fear that you may soon
be the one to lose it all. The grip
on your wallet becomes tighter
and tighter.
Some of us have more than
enough in terms of our material
well-being. However, true to our
human nature, we do not only
want to protect and maintain our
material resources - we also want
to increase it. Particularly when we
start comparing ourselves to others
and we discover that we are not as
REV CAREL BOTMA
well-off as our neighbour. It results
in a cancerous competition and
we start focusing on the things we
do not have, instead of focusing
on what we have been blessed
with. We are discontented and we
become obsessively jealous of the
possessions and material well-be-
ing of others. We covet our neigh-
bour's wife, his house, his slave,
his cattle and his donkey. Jealousy
takes over our lives and we know
what the end result is: Kain killed
Abel because of jealousy!
The tenth commandment does
not say that we may not see and
appreciate the good things of life.
However, it requires us to be sat-
isfied with what we have received
from God. Discontentment and
dissatisfaction imply that God is
stingy and that He neglected us by
giving us inferior bread crumbs.
This is contrary to the nature of
God! He gave us one of the most
valuable possessions ever, namely
everlasting life.
lot. The lines have fallen to me in
pleasant places; Yes, I have a good
inheritance". The person who
can sing out these words, is able to
experience quality in respect of his
material life - even if he has not
received much.
God is challenging you to, despite
your material needs, still live a
sensible and joyous life. Not only
should you be satisfied with what
He gave you, but you should also
be grateful for it. Had it not been
for the generous hand of God, we
would have had nothing, not even
poverty!
I don't want to provide answers
for the reasons for poverty and
why you may not have the mate-
rial possessions you require - I
cannot do that. What I can do,
is to tell you that God does have
a reason for your particular situ-
ation. When you think about it,
the poverty which you received is
good, because God has a reason
for it - He means well with it. This
understanding enabled David in
Psalm 19 to confess: "O Lord, You
are the portion of my inheritance
and my cup; You maintain my
SENWES Scenario • AUG/SEP 2017